Island of dreams?
by Sternschnuppe3378
Summary: This story starts after the last episode. Maura and Jane fly to Paris, but never get there because their plane crashes. They both survive. but what will happen?
1. Chapter 1

Jane felt something at her neck and groaned_. "Its ok"_, Maura whispered_. "Our plane just crashed._" The brunette opened her eyes and felt panic rise as she smelled fire. "_We need to get out, now!"_ Maura urged. _"Can you move?"_

More groaning as Jane tried to get out of her seat. There was some warm fluid running over her left cheek. She touched it with her hand but couldn't see if it was blood. Maura's eyes were wide open, and her lips were moving but she couldn't hear what her friend was saying. It seemed to take forever until Jane had finally freed her left leg from the seat in front of her. She felt more blood running down her face. Maura who literally dragged her to the small corridor. Jane followed Maura's instruction and kept her head down as they crouched towards the emergency exit. Once outside both women gasped for air and ran away from the plane as fast as possible.

Jane turned around just in time to see the plane explode. Everything went like in slow motion. She threw herself over her friend who was still looking the other way. They fell into some bushes, protected by some trees.

She heard Maura gasp underneath her and rolled to the side. _"Sorry!"_ she murmured; "_I was scared that we would be hit by something."_ The blonde nodded. "_Good reaction though_", she replied and looked horrified.

"_I can't believe we survived."_ Jane stated flatly.

"_Well according to a study 95,7 percent people survive a plane crash. But of course, your survival depends on your seat and behavior." _

"_Yeah, we are survivors_" Jane mumbled. It was supposed to be a joke. But no one laughed. They sat up and looked at each other. _"Your dress is ruined"_ Jane stated, feeling the shock setting in. Maura must feel it too for she giggled, as if this was the worst thing about their situation.

The blonde softly took Janes face between her hand to check why she was bleeding. "_Don't be such a pussy!"_ Maura ranted as the brunette groaned before she had actually really touched her. Jane was afraid of doctors. Always had been. She literally only went to the doctor when she was about to die. And she didn't feel like dying, so she was against Maura fumbling around in her face.

"_The cut is very deep, you need some stitches. Anything else that hurts?"_ The blonde woman asked with worried eyes.

"_No, nothing."_ Jane stated and wanted to get up, as she realized that she had terrible pain in her left leg. She screamed and let herself fall back to the ground.

"_Really?"_ Maura asked with a raised eyebrow. Jane bit her lips.

"_Okay, my left leg hurts like hell. But otherwise I'm fine, I swear!" _

"_We will see."_ The blonde woman ignored Janes rolling eyes and let her hand wander over the thigh of the other woman. She tore at a whole in the trousers and ripped it open.

"_Heeeee",_ Jane protested. "_You don't have to ruin my trousers just because your dress is ruined." _

Now it was Maura who rolled her eyes and sighed. _"you are so funny Jane. Haha You seem to be lucky though. Its just a bruise. You will survive it. And as soon as we are back to civilization, I buy you some new trousers. I promise."_

Jane snorted as Maura helped her to get to her feet again. They stood and looked around.

There was another group of survivors nearby. Jane counted six people who seemed to be ok.

Then she looked to the wreckage of the plane, which was still burning and behind it, they could see the ocean.

"_Where the hell are we?"_ Jane muttered.

"_I don't know Maura replied and sighed. But I'm sure that search teams are already on the way." _

Jane sat down with the others and watched Maura examining and helping them. She touched her cheek, where Maura had put some stitches and a Plaster. _"That will have to do for now",_ she had said putting her surgical sewing kit back to her pocket.

We should go and look for some wood to make a fire, Jane stated. And despite Maura's protest she and two men went into the jungle while Maura examined a pregnant woman. The brunette could barely walk but gave her best to keep up with the guys.

Then she started to set up the fire. Just in time as it was already getting dark. So far, three hours had passed since the crash, and no one had found them. It's going to be a cold night she thought, as she piled up smaller branches, over a piece of paper which had flown out of the crashing aircraft. Now she only needed some matches. She was astonished as Maura pulled some out of her pocket.

"_What are you?"_ She muttered. "_Dr. McGyver?"_

Maura chuckled. _"Its astonishing how much I can put into this little purse_." She smiled proudly. "_That's good because one never knows what's going to happen."_

"Yeah, all right. Do you happen to have some food in your purse too?" Jane asked.

"Unfortunately not", Maura replied with a serious face. Not getting the joke.

Once the fire was started, they all settled around it. Jane was right, it was already freezing cold. hopefully the search and rescue team found them soon. They were hungry and tired. The brunette felt Maura coming closer.

"We have to cuddle together because it will be warmer then and our bodies won't have to work so hard to keep the temperature."

Uh oh, Jane thought and automatically put an arm around Maura's shoulder.


	2. Chapter 2 - ghost stories

Jane glanced at the 7 people sitting around the campfire with her. Fife hours had passed since the crash and everybody was sitting in silence. They were hungry and tired. It was freezing cold, despite the flames which were throwing dancing shadows at grim and scared faces. A creepy darkness was surrounding them.

The brunette wished she hadn't taken off her jacket in the plane. She secretly checked once more for a phone signal. But there was none. Sighing she shut the phone down in order to preserve the batterie and shoved the mobile back into her trousers pocket.

she asked herself how long it would take until the search and rescue teams would find them. The smell of the burned plane was still hovering in the air and she thought that her mother was certainly worried sick by now.

"_How about some creepy stories in order to shorten the time until we get rescued?"_ the tall man across from Jane asked. He had presented himself as Joey. And sitting next to him was a petite blonde, whose name was Sandy. They had just gotten married and were at the plane to spend their honeymoon in Paris.

"_What a great idea_." Maura answered enthusiastically. _"I've always wanted to do that_." Her eyes glooming in the dark. Jane rolled her eyes like Harry who was a wealthy businessman in a suit. He told them earlier, that he had an important meeting planned for a future fusion with a European company in Paris tomorrow. It apparently drove him crazy, that he couldn't even call to inform his business partners.

Then there were Lola and Molly, a lesbian couple on vacation. Aged about 25, they were eager to see the world. _"We won't be able once we have children."_ Lola, the black-haired woman had explained smiling.

"_You won't have children if they don't find us."_ Harry said. But the two girls who were now cuddling with each other had ignored him and kept seeing the whole thing as an adventure.

More rolling eyes from Harry. Jane tried to figure out his age. Probably around sixty, she thought. Overweight, almost bald, with a Taylor suit. In the business world he was doubtlessly an impressive appearance, but he seemed to be completely misplaced here.

Now, Grandie, a 15-year-old girl from Texas talked for the first time. _"Oh please. We did that at our last summer camp. It almost bored me to death." _

Jane chuckled for when she was Grandies age she had felt exactly the same.

She remembered her time at summer camp. She had been more into playing pranks to others than in urban legends and campfires.

Joey cleared his throat. _"I know a very good story. It happened to the cousin of my cousins' father…"_

"_Oh yeah, don't all horror stories start like that?"_ Harry interrupted with a smirk on his face. Maura made a shhh sound towards the bald man and then focused on Joey again. The tall man smiled and continued to tell one of the most boring urban legends Jane had ever heard. But she let him, because Maura seemed to enjoy it. She shrieked and giggled and clung to Jane who had to laugh at her reactions.

"_How long have you been together?" _Molly asked them over the fire joyfully after the story had ended.

"_We are not together."_ Maura replied nudging Jane playfully into the side. _"We are just good friends."_

Jane could see an expression of disbelief on Lola's face while Molly stated smiling_: "Oh, come on! Don't be so prudish. We are living in the two thousands. There is no need to be shy or ashamed. Gay is okay!"_

"_I'm pretty sure of that"_ Jane replied. _"But we are not together."_

"_Uh, so I'm sorry. I just thought because… uhm, never mind."_ Molly apologized, her face still in disbelief.

"_What's so funny?"_ Jane asked Harry who was laughing.

"_Nothing."_ He stated in between some gasps._ "Its just the whole situation. This is just like out of a bad movie." _

"_Yeah, anyway, I need to go to the toilet."_ Jane muttered, feeling some headache coming up. She shot Maura a questioning look. _"Oh, I come with you. None of us should walk around alone. Who knows what kind of animals or strange creatures are at this place?"_

Both women got up. Jane really needed to pee. But she was also released to get away for some minutes, even though it immediately got colder as soon as they left the fire. The topic of relationships and love made her run away whenever they came up. She had been in love before. But it had never worked out. Either she or her partner had ended up hurt. It just freaked her out. She only allowed Maura to come close to her. She even enjoyed that. Jane felt safe with her. And maybe she was into her, but she just couldn't imagine being with Maura and risk their friendship. She had gone over that with herself a million times.

Jane could hear her friend's breath right behind her. Carefully they walked towards a big stone at the boarder of the woods. She let go Maura to the toilet first, then it was her turn. There was an earie silence in the woods. One would expect to hear the noise of animals. But their were none.

They hurried back to the warmth of the fire. Shame that the entire plane had burnt, otherwise they could have taken some blankets and something warm to wear. Jane admired Maura who was graciously walking in her high heels.

"_Who has another creepy story?"_ Joey asked when they had sat down again, his eyes hopeful on them. _"You are a detective"_ he addressed the brunette_. "I'm sure you have stuff to tell."_

"_He is into true crime."_ His wife explained. _"I think that he has listened to all available podcasts."_

"_That's true. I always wanted to talk to a real detective."_ Joey smiled like a child on Christmas eve.

"_I'm sorry"_ Jane explained. _"I'm not in the mood for telling stories tonight."_

Neither was Maura. So silence settled in again and Joey looked deceived.


	3. Chapter 3 - a hike

The night had gone by fast Jane thought as she sat on the cliffs watching the sun rise. She hoped that it would get warmer during the day. She heard some footsteps behind her and turned around to see Maura.

"_Can I sit or do you want to be alone?"_ the blonde woman asked.

On one side Jane was glad not to be alone, but on the other she wanted to have some time to think things over She nodded to her friend and was surprised as Maura sat right next to her.

"_No boats."_ Jane informed her.

"_How long have you been sitting here?"_ Maura asked and rubbed her eyes. She was shivering.

The group had decided to take care of the fire and lookout in shifts. Harry who had had the last shift had fallen asleep. That's why Jane had awoken in the first place because the fire had gone out. Feeling soar she had decided to take a closer look to the crash site, in order to see if there was some usable stuff and to stretch her legs. They hadn't dared to approach the burning plane yesterday she thought. But as it felt safer today she had circled the plane until she had got rewarded by finding some suitcases and backpacks.

A plan had formed in her mind as she had also taken a closer look to the surrounding. There was a nearby mountain. She would take a backpack and hike or climb to the top in order to see if they got a phone signal up there. If yes, they could inform the coastguard or whoever to get some help.

Jane glanced at Maura who wasn't really awake yet and pulled her tiny shivering body closer. They sat in quiet and looked out to the ocean which shimmered in an incredible blue as the sun started to rise on the horizon.

"_How romantic!"_ the blonde said yawning a bit. Jane couldn't help but note how their bodies matched perfectly together. she sighed and brushed her thoughts away filling Maura in about her plan.

As expected, the blonde was skeptical about it. _"Jane, you are still limping, and the mountain is very high. Besides I don't think that its such a good idea to split from the group."_

"_Maura, you know me. I can't sit still and wait for some help which might not come."_

Yes, her friend knew her. The blonde started to scan her mind for a valuable statistic for chances that a crashed plane wouldn't be found. She had none, but she was aware that the search and rescue teams weren't always successful. Which was astonishing, seeing as to how modern technology like satellites made it possible to track down all kind of things.

"_Its been only a few hours since the crash, we just have to be patient."_

"_I know, but I just want to be prepared."_ Jane replied and secretly rolled her eyes.

Maura knew that Jane would go anyway so she offered to join her. She was to scared that anything would happen to the brunette, who had been her first real friend in life.

Jane who had hoped that Maura would come with her smiled_. "Maybe we find something to eat as well."_ She gave away her last argument, pointing to her grumbling stomach.

Maura chuckled. Feeling hungry too.

They first brought the suitcases and backpacks to the rest of the group. By now everybody was up. Joey was just entangled in a dispute with Harry over the unwatched fire. Saying something disparaging about men in suits, when both women arrived at the campsite.

Jane found a suiting hoody in one of the suitcases and thanked god for it while she watched Maura change from her high heels into more comfortable shoes. After some minutes the group had split the suitcases contents in between them, and everybody looked satisfied.

Unfortunately, the peace didn't last long, as Harry refused to look for wood for the campfire. He sat on a blanket now, arguing that he felt too tired and hungry which reignited the rage in Joey. The two young girls sat in silence, holding hands, and watching the scene. It seemed as they had grown tired of the adventurefeeling as they looked soar and tired.

Jane was only too glad to leave the group for a while, even though her leg hurt with every step that she took. It also felt good to do some workout. After a two hour hike, Maura and she took a break, sitting down on some stones. The path had been very uncomfortable so far, as the soil proved to be uneven and roots were sticking out everywhere.

"_I hope they don't kill each other while we are away."_ Jane said to the blonde who was just taking out a stone from her shoe.

"_You mean Harry and Joey?"_ she asked while putting on her shoe again.

"_yes. Those two are so uh well lets say that they could kill someone else as collateral damage."_

"_Stupid is what you wanted to say?_ Maura asked and chuckled before becoming serious_. "You shouldn't talk about them like this."_

"_I wanted to say ungifted in surivaval."_ Jane stated chuckling herself_. "That's a fact and no insult I believe."_

"_Its very diplomatic at least."_ Maura laughed taking a sip from her water.

She rolled her eyes when she recalled filling them in on their plan. Harry had pulled his head between his shoulders just like a turtle while Joey had been acting like Tarzan wanting to go with them because they would certainly need their protection. Jane hat brushed it away stating that she needed him to protect the group. Besides she could take care of herself as being a detective.

"_I can be very diplomatic."_ She noted and saw Maura's amusing smile.

"_What?"_ the blonde asked before bursting out in laughter.

Jane tried not to be offended. Instead she rolled her eyes and put one of the backpacks on her shoulder. _"Time to move on." _She said and helped her friend to her feet.

"_ok, all right. You can be diplomatic."_ Maura said holding her hands to the air in surrender. But she still couldn't suppress a chuckle. Jane rolled her eyes again.

They walked in silence for a while as they needed to concentrate on the difficult soil. Jane helped Maura over some fallen trees. Maura liked that side on her friend. She was always so attentive and helpful. Like a gentlewoman she thought.

"_You realize that we could now sit at the mussée dOrsay and see some nice paintings right now?_ Maura started a conversation at their next break.

"_Or eat crepe and drink delicious coffee? That's French pancakes by the way." _The blonde continued.

Jane wished she had left Maura at the camp too. But just for a brief moment because at the end she had to admit, that she loved her friend for being who she was.

"_I know what crepes are."_ She stated having a completely different picture in mind. The picture of a delicious, good temperature beer made her mouth water.

She took her water bottle out and looked mischievously at the fluid which was not beer.

"_I hope you took your phone with you. I'm not going to the mountaintop a second time."_ Jane said breathless instead of revealing what she would prefer to do now.

"_Of course, I took my phone. What do you think of me?"_ Maura snorted.

"_Oh look!"_ her friend suddenly exclaimed leaning to the side to pick up something from behind the stone she was sitting on. Jane assumed that the blonde had yet found the thousandth rare flower since they had started their hike.

Actually, Maura had found some mushrooms which were eatable. She picked them and put them cautiously into her backpack stating that they could grill them over a fire later. Seeing that they wouldn't be able to make it back to the camp anymore today. Maybe they wouldn't even be able to get to the mountain top before the sun went down.

After a while they reached a little creek with fishes. It was already getting dark so they decided to set up a camp there. They felt lucky as they found a little cave where they planned to sleep. Unless it was already inhabited by a bear…

Jane decided to check as Maura followed her, hiding behind the brunettes back. Due to Maura's knowledge they were able to make a torch out of the wood which they had collected for a fire. They moved the backpacks into the cave after finding out, that it was empty.

"_Its our lucky day!"_ Jane said half sarcastic, half serious. There were fish in the creek and the brunette was ready to catch one to go with the mushrooms. She glanced over to Maura who had already started a fire and was sitting on a stone next to it watching her.

"_come on Jane!"_ she cheered. _"You can do it!"_

Jane focused on the fish in the water, self made pike in hand, still wondering how Maura had managed to bring a swiss knife to the plane in her bag. That woman was really a never-ending conundrum to her.

She remembered a conversation with Maura were she had stated that she would be the man in a lesbian relationship. Maura had told her to stop stereotyping. But as she saw it, she was the man. Fishing while Maura sat save on her stone waiting for her to bring something to eat home. The fact that her friend was also sitting in front of a cave made her laugh. It was like they had ended up in a flintstone movie or so.

"_What's so funny?"_ Maura asked approaching her. Jane told the blonde what she had just thought. _"Can you see the comic in this picture?"_ she asked Maura who started to laugh. Tears were running down their cheeks because they had to laugh so hard.

"_So, now go back to your seat. I need to focus on fishing, otherwise we are going to starve to death." _Jane said after whipping some tears away.

"_Do I make you nervous?"_ Maura asked.

Oh man, that woman had no idea. Just stop thinking about your feelings for Maura and you'll be fine she told herself. Why on earth did she start to lose control over this situation. It was fine in Boston she thought.

As a fat fish swum by she saw her chance and pushed the pike into the water. She didn't need to see, that she had just completed her task of bringing some food home. There was only one problem: she couldn't kill the fish.

"_I will do it."_ Maura said and did so.

"_You are a killer!"_ Jane gasped teasing the blonde.

"_If you were as hungry as I am you would become a killer too, believe me."_ Maura said in a dry voice and then chuckled.

"_So, do I have to be afraid of you now?"_ Jane looked down at herself.

"_Don't worry Jane"_ Maura said and laughed. _"This fish will spare your life for tonight."_

The dinner was delicious. Needless to say, that Maura also had salt and pepper and some strange spices in her wonderbag. Jane looked upwards to the sky which could be seen through the trees. Heavy clouds hung in the evening sky and they could already hear a thunder somewhere far away.

They hurried into their cave as heavy raindrops started to fall from the sky. As Jane couldn't sleep she untangled her from Maura whose arms were wrapped around her to go and sit at the caves entrance. It felt soothing to smell and see the rain.

"_Can I join you?"_ Maura asked and sat down in front of Jane. In between the brunette's legs. She softly let her back against Janes, who didn't even have time to answer.

Maybe resisting her feelings towards Maura had become harder than in Boston because the blonde seemed to be more touchy Jane thought. I have to talk to her. We must find a solution, she sighed as she allowed herself to enjoy this situation for a bit.

Otherwise it's going to kill me. She felt a little confused. Was Maura trying to say something with her behavior or was it just the cold weather? What if…. She rubbed her head and postponed any further decisions to the next day because she felt so tired.


	4. Chapter 4 - a hike part 2

The sun came out the next day, but the creek carried much more water now. It had been raining throughout the night. Jane had no idea when they had finally gone to sleep, but it must have been late for sure. She still felt a little aching in her womb as she left the cave to follow an already awake Maura up the mountain.

Hopefully they would get a signal so that they could call for help she thought as she climbed over a huge rock. She desperately wished for a beer and a proper bed. But she tried to keep her hope down. Sleeping on the stoned floor hadn't been good for her back. Although her leg felt much better today, despite the long hike yesterday.

Soon they reached a little plateau on top of the mountain. She noted that the view was incredible from there. The brunette checked for boats on the deep blue ocean, but there were none. It also struck her, that they were stranded on a small island. The mountain seemed to be right in the center of it. Her heart sunk a little as she couldn't make out any signs of civilization.

Jane took out her phone and switched it on, watching in anticipation if the signal sign appeared. But it didn't. So, she started to wander around the plateau, practically following Maura who did the same.

"_Do you have any signal?"_ she asked the blonde who tilted her head.

"_Do you?"_ she asked in return, but Jane also had to shook her head.

"_So much for this plan…."_ Jane muttered. Maura laid a hand on Janes arm and told her to keep her head up. It had been a good idea, nevertheless.

"_Yeah"_ she muttered and kicked a stone over the edge of the plateau and listened as it fell down.

They spend a little bit more time on the top of the mountain and decided to go back to their cave as another thunderstorm approached them. Both women had to hurry, but still couldn't make it dry back to the cave.

"We have to get rid of our clothes. Otherwise we might catch a cold." the blonde said but gave no signs to start. In fact, she stood in their little shelter, hesitating.

Even though Jane already felt cold she went back into the rain to find some wood for a fire. Relieved she returned with some dry branches and set the fire up at the entrance of the cave hoping that it wasn't to far in to poison them with toxic gases, but also inside enough to be protected from the rain.

She glanced at Maura who was still in her wet clothes. _"Come on, you have to get undressed."_ Jane muttered trying to catch some breath. A few minutes later she had the fire burning, and took of her wet trousers, hanging them close to the fire so that they could dry. Her hoody and t-shirt followed. The fire warmed the women but also the cave. Maura finally also undressed and only left her underwear on.

Both sat leaning against the wall close to the flames in quiet. Jane glanced secretly at Maura and tried to read her mind, but she couldn't.

"_I'm going to fetch more wood in a few minutes."_ She told Maura who seemed deep in thought. Jane thought that the blonde was probably thinking about what was going to happen if nobody found them. But with her one never knew. Whatever she was thinking of, confused her deeply Jane mused, because Maura didn't even try to hold her back from going half naked into the rain for firewood.

She tried to gather enough to last for the rest of the day and the night. Then she sat back, warming up to the flames.

When Maura hadn't talked for what seemed to be hours, she finally turned to the blonde and asked if she was all right.

The blonde looked towards Jane, an odd look on her face. "I guess so" she mumbled, and Jane sighed.

"Spit it out before it eats you up Maur."

"I don't know Jane. I'm just tired and overwhelmed I guess."

Jane crawled over and sat down next to Maura putting an arm around the blonde. She almost shrieked when she felt a hand wander over her thigh_. "I've always admired your lean body and your long legs."_ Maura whispered.

"_Are you serious?"_ Jane tried to withhold a moan as the blondes' hand came very close to a certain place in between her legs.

"Your so beautiful and hot." Maura whispered as her mouth approached Janes ears, creating goose bumps over her body. Jane felt her pulse rise and the arousal as her friend kept moving her hands on her inner thighs. She could hear her own ragged breath as she leaned back against the wall and her eyes closed shut. _"Oh my god."_ She whispered combing her fingers through her curly black hair. I must be dreaming she thought.

It drove her crazy and made her pelvis ache as the hand only came close but never touched. She was about to explode without even being touched there. A moan escaped her mouth as Maura kissed her neck. _"It's been such a long time since I wanted to do this Jane."_ Maura whispered and kissed Jane on the lips.

Jane was so aroused that it almost hurt. While their tongues were mating Jane grabbed for Maura's hand in between her legs and put it on her pelvis. A deep moan escaped her throat as she felt the soft hand, laying still where she had put it. She could hear Maura moan too through her ragged breath. But Maura seemed to enjoy the game. _"If I move my hand Jane, will you come?" "I will probably even come when you don't move your hand. You drive me crazy Maur!"_ the brunette whispered.

Maura chuckled. _"Oh my god. You are so hot."_ She murmured as she leaned back a little and started to move her hand. It didn't take long until Jane came with a delightful scream. But she still felt so aroused that she started to grind her pelvis against Maura's hand until she came again.

"_Oh my god!"_ she whispered and closed her eyes. Enjoying the sensation of the orgasm. She heard Maura's elaborated breathing and turned to her. She tortured Maura equally and watched her come in delight.

Afterwards they lay on the floor breathless. Jane watched the shadows of the flames dancing on the ceiling. Had she just dreamt that? Making love with Maura was as good as she had imagined it to be for sure. She rolled to her side to glance at Maura after a while

"Hell, did that just really happen?" she asked in disbelief.

"Uhhhh, yes Jane. I'm sorry if I crossed a line here, but I just couldn't help when you suddenly sat half naked next to me."

Jane studied the blondes face thoroughly. It didn't say that she was sorry for sure.

"But you didn't seem to mind so…."

"Well" Jane started "I actually didn't mind at all." They both chuckled.

"So, it was good?" Maura asked.

More chuckling. "I would say better than good and long overdue." Jane replied and gave Maura a kiss. She hoped that Maura wouldn't start talking about a relationship. But the blonde knew better and kept silent.

Jane pulled the blonde closer to her. "We should snuggle in order to keep warm." She mumbled as Maura gave a silent chuckle. "oh yeah, there is no other reason for snuggling right?" she teased the brunette who replied. "What other reason could there be?" and both started laughing.


	5. Chapter 5

The sun was already up, when Jane awoke the next day. She found Maura yawning and stretching in front of the cave.

"Has anybody ever told you how sexy you are?" she teased the blonde.

"Oh, hi, good morning to you too Jane." Maura had a big sheepish grin on her face.

Jane almost slipped on a stone as she tried to get to the creek to put some cold water on her face. She was honestly glad that Maura hadn't tried to start a talk about what had happened. She felt completely fine by taking it for what it was and to leave it like that. She didn't want to think to much about it. Everything seemed to be complicated enough right now. It was the fourth day after the crash. Who knew if they got rescued and when. If yes, Maura would live in Paris and Jane in Quantico. It all just seemed to be such a big unknown.

"We have to check on the others today." Maura stated while they were sitting on a stone enjoying the sunshine.

"I know." Jane said, working on her pike in order to catch some fish to bring them.

It took the women a while to get down of the mountain.

The other ones were obviously well, waving in joy as they saw both women arrive.

"_I took good care of them."_ Joey stated proud like a teacher's pet. Jane could see Lola and Molly rolling their eyes behind his back.

"_Well done!"_ Maura said and Joeys face brightened.

Jane pulled out the fish from her backpack _"Tadaaa, we brought you some food_." She exclaimed and everybody cheered.

"_We found some crabs on the beach."_ Lola said. _"But we are still starving. Some of us obviously need more food than others." _Jane was surprised that the dark-haired woman glanced to Joey and not to Harry.

The tall mans face showed no emotion. _"Well, some of us need more protein to keep the muscles working. You can thank me later, once I protected you from a wild animal."_

"_Well, at least you protect us from gaining weight!"_ Lola answered sarcastically.

"_You can't gain weight from protein."_ Maura noted.

Jane threw Maura a Seriously? Look. But Maura just shrugged and sat down by the fire.

"_Anyway"_ the brunette sighed. _"We have one fish for everyone. Therefore, no need to fight about the food." _

"_So Jane, how about some spooky stories today?"_ Joey asked after everybody was done eating.

Jane rolled her eyes_. "Not today Joey."_ She mumbled and got on her feet to stretch her legs. She caught Lola glancing at her and Maura as the blonde "fortuitously" touched the brunette's arm. Jane thought to see a knowing smile appear on the young women's face but ignored it. I'm definitely to old for that she thought as she walked away towards the cliffs.

The group had told her, that they had seen no ship or helicopter while they had been away. Jane decided to start worrying only after one week. She still believed that they would be found eventually and could return home.

On one side she wanted to get home. On the other side she didn't like it because it meant that Maura and she would be thousand miles apart. She thought about the previous night. Still confused about their relationship status. Was it now friendship with benefits or more? Most of all she was confused about her own feelings. She wanted something that she had evaded all her live. A real relationship.

She brushed away her thoughts and focused on her breath just like she had learned in some of the yoga classes Maura had dragged her to.

Maura watched Jane leave the group. She couldn't believe that she had actually touched this body only a few hours ago. But to be honest it was not only Janes body which attracted her, but also the brunettes brilliant mind and her attentive way. Jane Rizzoli was one of the finest women in the world.

And Maura knew her well enough to not talk about relationship or pressure her.

As evening came, the group sat around the fire. A guitar had also miraculously survived the crash and Joey played some old songs. He was a good singer Jane thought, and soon the 15 year old joined him. Harry who was his usual grumpy self, kept rolling his eyes. But his whipping feet gave his charade away. It ended up to be a nice evening with no more fights.

When Jane had fallen asleep, Maura gave her friend a secret kiss on the cheek and spooned with her.


	6. Chapter 6

„I think we are stuck here." Harry was the first to mouth what everybody feared. Its been 8 days since the crash now and the weather was turning worse and worse. They had moved the camp into the woods to be sheltered from the rain and wind but the leaves started to fall which took a piece of their shelter away day by day.

Jane glanced at Maura in order to read her mind. But she couldn't.

"So what?" Joey came to life after a little nap. "We are going to make us a nice little boat and take our fate in our own hands."

"Nice thought, jungle man." Molly replied. "First we don't know where to go, because we don't know where we are. And second," she lifted her fingers as she counted "we are not going to come far seeing as to how restless the sea is. We are either drown or freeze to death."

Jane couldn't help but chuckle as to the name Molly called Joey. The tall man stared her down and answered. "Are you scared lessi?"

"So, now that's enough." Jane spoke up. "Insulting each other wont safe the problem. I would suggest that we go to the place on the mountain where Maura and I spent two nights. There are enough caves for us all. So we will be sheltered. And then we can talk about further plans."

She caught Harry shooting the mountain a mischievous look. Then at her. It was ovous that he feared the hike.

"That sounds like a good plan, Jane." Maura confirmed. There is enough food, and we wont have to sit in the rain any longer.

Their eyes locked for a brief moment. Jane wasn't sure, but was there desire in Mauras look? Damn hormones she thought and immediately brushed her thoughts away.

The discussion went on for a while some wanted to stay put, some wanted to go to the caves. But Maura reminded them, that it would be better to stay together as a group. After some forth and back a group of five people left the camp, leaving 3 people behind. Jane had an earie feeling about that. But she saw that there was no use in discussing further.

The brunette threw a look over her shoulder to see Maura, Molly and Lola following her. This time the hike was more difficult because of the fallen leaves which made the soil slippery. The three girls seemed to be in a good shape though, spending most of the time singing and chatting.

"Have fun in lessi town." Joey had shouted after them waving. Jane rolled her eyes as she remembered.

She took care to keep a slow pace and to make enough breaks. The brunette had the feeling to hike with a group of Mauras and chuckled. They had to stop several times for cute animals or beautiful plants. She couldn't help but miss Frankie, Frost and Korsak.

Maura seemed to enjoy the lot, sharing her wisdom on what they just saw.

"See, people love science. You just have to show it to them." She said to Jane who was sitting on a stone waiting to continue.

"Oh yes. Imagine, we are going to have a lot of time for that now." Sounding harsher then she wanted.

Maura didn't seem to get it. She turned to her students and tried to explain photosynthesis to them.

It dawned on Jane that it would be a loooooong day and she took a sip from her waterbottle. While everybody behaved like on a field trip from school her mind started to race about what the future would bring. What if they had to stay on this island for the rest of their life? Would they start weaving clothes and make shoes? That thought somehow amused her. She was pretty sure, that Maura was capable of doing that.

One of the things she admired most about this woman was her immense knowledge, even if she wished that Maura would keep her wisdom for herself by now, so that they could finally get to the caves.

Soon enough the group started to move again and the darkness was on Janes side and they were able to arrive at the caves after no more stops. The brunette couldn't help but blush for a brief moment when she remembered how they had made love here just a few days ago.

She could see that Maura was thinking of the same thing because the blonde had her sheepischly grin on the face again.

"Well uh" she cleared her throat. "here we are."

Maura chuckled as she saw Janes red face.

"its really beautiful here!" Lola exclaimed and dragged Molly to a cave. "uh, how about this one?" she asked her girlfriend who first wanted to see all the caves before deciding. Jane chuckled at Lolas expression on the face.

"Well honey" Molly explained, "this is going to be our first together home. So we have to choose carefully."

"Yeah, sure sweetheart" Jane could see how Lola was struggling with her impatience "a cave is a cave, don't you think so?"

Molly gave a snorting sound. "that's not true and you know it." She replied with curled lips.

Jane couldn't help but see herself and Maura in them. She rembered when they had gone shopping for underwear together sometime at the beginning of their friendship. Jane had taken the first decent underwear she liked. But Maura had ranted in shock "You can't take that. How about these? How can you wear something like this?" "But they are comfortable, I like them!" the brunette had whined. She chuckled once more and sat down to watch a little drama unfold as a tired, grumpy Lola was dragged from one cave into another.

"To me, they look all the same." She finally repeated very much to Molly's distaste. "Just choose one for heavens sake!" the dark haired woman continued.

Jane felt Maura taking a seat next to her. "Should we help them?" she whispered to the brunette.

"No, I don't think so. Only if they start to beat each other up. Otherwise they have to clear by themselves. But see, that's why I never wanted a relationship. It saves you a lot of nerves." She hadn't intended to say the last part out loud and cringed a little, hoping that Maura wasn't offended.

"So, are you saying that you want your own cave?" Too late Jane thought and cringed some more.

"No, not at all." She put on some dog eyes to Maura who still looked offended.

In the meantime, Lola and Molly became louder. "I bet they have their first hard fight." Maura said.

Jane nodded. "Girls, you need to decide. We have to start a fire and eat something."

Her remark went completely unnoted.

"So, you don't care where we live? Do I get that right?" Molly stated.

"I do care where we live!" Lola screamed.

Maura and Jane left them to their discussion and started their own fire in their cave. Jane went to get some fish again, noting that she got really good at it.

"I will make us some bread tomorrow." Maura stated as Jane flipped their dinner to the other side.

Lola and Molly ceased fighting as a heavy rain began to fall. Grandie had moved into a cave in the meantime. Jane and Maura offered the 15 year old to sleep at their cave. But she had waved it off and mumbled something about privacy but not mentioning whose.

Once everybody was settled in their new home, they sat down in Janes and Maura's cave to eat dinner. Later Jane sat her favorite spot and watched the rain fall. It didn't take long until Maura arrived and claimed her favorite spot between Janes legs, leaning against the brunette with a relaxed sigh.

This time Jane put an arm around the blonde and softly kissed her neck. Maura pressured her back a little bit more towards Jane who held the blonde close. Together they listened to the rain fall, simply enjoying each others presence.

"you are beautiful." Jane whispered into Maura's ear and kissed her neck again.

Maura's heart jumped and a big smile spread across her face. "you are beautiful too, Jane." She whispered back to the brunette's delight.

Janes mind started to mull around the whole situation. She had to acknowledge, that her relationship with Maura had always been more than just friendship but less than a romantic and physical one. It felt as if they had danced around this fine line forever. On one side living a couple's life but on the other…

She truly enjoyed being so close to Maura. And it was fine on the island because it had its charm. But honestly, she was craving for the luxury of civilization. She couldn't decide which one she missed more: coffee, beer, food or a nice bed.

So, Jane had mixed feelings. Reality was, that she wanted to stay close to Maura and to explore life with her. But this would only be possible on the island. Both were just about to start a new job, and the distance between Paris and Quantico was just to big. On the other hand, she just couldn't imagine spending her life on the island.

So, getting back to civilization and living close to Maura would be perfect she thought and sighed.

Anyway, Jane was glad that Maura had stepped into action, realizing that otherwise they would still be dancing around foolishly driving each other insane. Clearly both were on the same page, Jane mused. She hadn't been sure about that for a long time. Well, now she knew. But there was a Second reason which had made them reluctant to give in to their desires in the past. It was that they didn't want to hurt or lose each other. And now that they had tasted the sweetness of making love they couldn't return to where their relationship was before that night.

The brunette tried to figure what would have happened without the crash. They would have spent a wonderful week in Paris. But how would have living on different continents in different time zones have affected their friendship she wondered.

Their history proved for sure, that if anything they were to much caring for each other. Always trying not to pressure another to much. To attentive maybe and to shy because they didn't want to destroy the bond between them.

A bond which had been threatened to often by rough fights leading to points where they had thought that the gap between them was to big to overcome. Which made Jane question more than one time if their friendship made any sense because of the differences. At the end they had always made it. But it still didn't really reassure her that fighting was ok because she cared so much for this woman in her arms, that she would never be able to forgive herself for hurting Maura.

She probably cared more for the blonde than for herself. So, where was a healthy line she thought. The brunette was aware that she had known the line before the love making. The sex had opened a new space in which they would have to find new lines and new positions.

Jane brushed her thoughts away as the blonde stood up. _"I'm off to bed Jane." _She noted and looked at the brunette who got up to her feet too. Before laying down she put some more wood into the fire.

"_How many matches have you left?"_ she asked Maura while putting her body into a comfortable position on the hard floor.

"_Some. But I picked up some fire stones on our hike today."_ The blonde replied hoping that Jane wouldn't get the idea to stay up all night just to prevent the fire from going out. One could see how tired she was. Just like all of them.

"_And do you know how to use them?"_

"_Sure, I once watched a documentation about the stone age."_ Maura stated as if this would prove that it was more than enough to know how to start a fire. Jane couldn't help but chuckle. Well for that clever girl it surly was enough, but the blondes logic sometimes left her simply speechless. The brunette took a note in her mind that she had to find a lot of wood the next day. They were running out of dry wood, so she hoped that by putting some into the cave it would dry up.

It was not that she had given up on being found, but she wanted to be prepared and have maybe a wood stock in one of the caves.

It hit Jane, the the differences between her and Maura maybe were exactly what made them strong. Somehow they always complemented each other. . with that on her mind she finally fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day brought some sunshine to everybody's relieve. Maura had found some eatable corn and started making wheat_. "we can't just live on fish and mushrooms."_ She pointed out

"_How so?"_ Jane teased her friend who was always pleading Jane to eat more healthy food.

"_Jane Clementine Rizzoli!"_ the blonde mimicked Angela perfectly, "Stop fooling around and get to work!"

Jane rolled her eyes and chuckled_. "Yes Ma!"_ she replied with a smirk on her face.

She changed into one of the trousers from the suitcases and put on a new shirt. Then she gathered Maura's dirty clothes and went to the creek to wash them.

She used a weird smelling soap, which also came from a suitcase and rubbed till she felt the fabrics were clean.

"_Dr. McGyver"_ she addressed the blonde who was still grinding the corns on a stone humming a song. "Do you happen to have a rope in your magical purse?" Jane couldn't help but finding the whole scenery absurd.

"_Sorry Jane, but I have none."_ Maura replied seemingly ignoring the nickname the brunette had given her.

Jane sighed and glanced around. She found a tree with nice branches in a sunny spot and hung the wet clothes there. With that done she asked Lola to help her with finding wood. The dark-haired women appeared to be happy to help. Jane secretly thought that she was glad to get away from Molly who was still looking for a cave.

"_What's wrong with your cave?"_ Jane asked as she picked up a really nice branch.

"_I don't know."_ Lola replied and rolled her eyes. They heard Grandie laugh. The young girl had decided to join them and already had collected a huge pile of firewood.

"_You both realize that you're not advertising relationships?"_ she asked with a whit smile on her face.

"_I'm not in a relationship!"_ Jane stated out of a reflex.

The other two laughed_. "Really? To me it looks awfully like you are in some sort of uh relationship with the doctor." _Lola noted.

The brunette shot a look to Maura who was now preparing a dough. The blonde also looked up and waved at them with a big grin on the face. She looked very pleased with herself.

Jane waved back and cringed. She decided to change the subject and pointed to a spot where she wanted to put the wood.

The place was really beautiful she thought. It was like a little plateau with lots of boulders and trees and the creek running in the middle.

After washing her hands Jane returned to Maura who was just done forming loaves of flatbread.

"_Great!"_ Grandie exclaimed. _"I'm already hungry!"_

Jane was surprised that the girl actually sat down with them. She would have expected her to join the younger girls who were now moving the little what they had from one cave to another.

"_I used to sit with my grandma and watch her cook."_ Grandie explained and while Maura was delighted Jane asked herself whether that meant that the girl thought that they were very old or just wanted to tell them that she enjoyed their company.

For a girl her age, old was from 25 upwards she guessed remembering herself when she was that age.

"_Were you alone on the flight?"_ Jane asked after a while.

"_Yes. I'm an orphan."_ The girl said and looked down to her feet. _"My parents died in a car crash when I was 5. I got some nice foster parents because my grandma was too old to raise me. I always hoped that they would adopt me, but as my foster mum became pregnant, they decided to give me away."_

Jane could feel the girls' pain and her struggle not to cry_. "By the age of 12 I had lived in six foster families but none of them wanted to keep me for long. I started to write texts and some of them were published. So, I finally got a scholarship for a fancy boarding school. Of course, I was the outcast again because I had less money and no parents. So, I wrote more texts and won a Journey to Paris to go to a text writer conference. Well…"_

Jane gave the girl a hug and cleared her throat. "Its all going to be fine. You will see. You had a rough start, and I'm really sorry for that. But now you found us. And if you can live with the fact that we are some old crazy woman you are welcome to be part of our family."

Now the girl silently cried in Janes arms and Jane gave a deep sigh.

Maura had to blink her tears away. The brunette was such a wonderful person. She kept wondering why her friend didn't want to have kids. She would make the greatest mom ever. It only hit her after a few moments that Jane had said our family. The blonde felt new tears dwelling up her eyes.

"That's true. We are here for you Grandie." Maura joined the hug.

"Thank you so much." Grandie said after a while untying the know of arms and bodies. "And you are not old. Maybe crazy but not old." She tried to tease them.

"Oh good. I'm reassured now because one of both is enough." Jane chuckled.

Maura nudged her friend playfully into her side. "speak for yourself woman!" she said and laughed.

"Aha, so you try to tell us that you're neither old nor crazy?" the brunette nudged her back.

Maura put on a serious face when she stated "Exactly! And now please excuse me, I have to put the bread on the fire. We have some hungry person here."

Jane and Grandie still chuckled as the blonde did as she had said.

If I had a beer now it would make a perfect day even more perfect…. Jane dreamt. She subconsciously listened to Grandie on the guitar, which she had claimed before leaving the camp. Then when the girl had finished her play, the brunette took the instrument and started to play Lady in black. Usually Jane was very shy at singing because she didn't think that she had a good voice. But she couldn't resist and started to sing silently with some humming in between.

Grandie thought it great and joined her. A puzzled Maura appeared.

"How come you never told me about your talents?"

"Because its no talent." Jane mumbled.

Maura shook her head. Sometimes she wondered how Jane could not know how gorgeous she was.

The five ate together when the bread was finished. Jane felt Maura glancing over to her several times and wondered what the blonde was up to. She then later collected the clothes from the branches. Thank god they were clean and almost dry she thought as she put them into the cave.

It was late in the evening when she finally found out what Maura had been up to all afternoon. It basically started with a harmless kiss. But as the kiss became more intense Jane was aroused again. This time it was Jane who teased Maura mercilessly showing the blonde that she knew that game too, by kissing her real slow downwards from the neck. As she reached the chest some erected nipples were pleading her to suck them. When she slowly took one of them into her mouth Maura moaned out loud. But Jane wouldn't let her press her body against her thigh to increase the blondes wanting.

She could hear and feel how Maura enjoyed it, when Jane sucked and nibbled at them. It filled her with pleasure to watch Maura enjoying her doing so much. Jane had never made love to any other woman before, but it was easy with the blonde. There came a point where she couldn't resist no longer so she pulled Maura down on top of her and as she became a little bit clumsy then, Maura helped her out by bringing her body into a position where their clits met and then slowly started to move her body on Jane. The brunette felt that she would come soon and whispered it to Maura who had a wide smile on her face. "So, I should slow down a little eh?" she asked with a husky voice, and Jane moaned as this drove her insane. In a good way, but still. "Nooo!" she whispered and the blonde chuckled increasing her pace again. She was also about to come. But she wanted to enjoy every single minute of it, so she kept changing pace until neither of them couldn't hold back the orgasm much longer.

They came at the same time. Afterwards Maura cupped the brunettes head in her hands and looked down on Jane with a smoldering look. Their eyes locked and Jane thought that she had never felt so close to another person before.

"I love you Maur." She said as soon the pace of her breath was almost normal again.

"I love you too Jane." The blonde replied and gave Jane a soft kiss.

There they were: three simple words. Jane was surprised how easy they had come out of her mouth. And her heart jumped to hear them from the blonde.

They spooned up under a blanket in front of the fire. Jane loved how it felt to lay there, skin on skin. And by Maura's sigh she could tell that the blonde liked it too. As usual Maura fell asleep first and Jane started to think about the day.

It was her everyday ritual before falling asleep. She relieved the happy moments and felt sad when she thought about Grandies fate. She knew what it was like to be the outcast, but she just couldn't imagine, what it must be to feel unwanted. Everybody deserved to be part of a family or a group. It was in human nature, as Maura had explained her earlier. Jane just felt the pain in her heart.

She had never considered herself as being a good mother, but maybe she was wrong she thought.


	8. Chapter 8

Jane woke up early the next day. She smiled when seeing Maura all disheveled from sleep. The brunette just couldn't resist at the sight of the naked woman beside her and started to softly caress over her body.

Maura's skin was soft and warm. Just the touch of it made her shiver and aroused in that very moment. Good for her, that the blonde felt the same. They made love and cuddled together afterwards.

"_Good morning sweetie"_ Maura greeted Jane with a soft kiss to her lips.

"_Good morning Dr. McGiver."_ Jane grinned. She had never felt such pleasure before when having sex.

"_I could get used to being awoken like that."_ Maura chuckled and kept kissing Janes face.

"_So, you mean I can do that again?"_ her voice now cheekily and teasing.

The blonde laughed. _"Yes Jane, please."_

Jane had never had a lover who liked being woken by sex before. But Maura seemed to adore it. She took a moment to thank god, that the cave kept the warmth well. The fire had probably gone out hours ago, but she didn't feel cold although being naked. Well of course she also had Maura's warm body always close to hers.

She could hear that the blonde's breath was becoming even again. But suddenly she felt Maura lift her head.

"_What's that for a noise?"_ she whispered to Jane who hadn't heard it at first. But now…. She listened and then suddenly started to laugh.

"_What?"_ Maura asked.

"_uhh, I think we have been a little bit loud."_ Jane blinked at Maura who still didn't get it.

"_Come on Maur"_ Jane giggled in disbelief. Her lovers face was still puzzled.

"_it's the girls. I guess we might have inspired them." _Jane chuckled.

Maura's face first turned deep red which really astonished Jane because the blonde sometimes talked about making love as it was a statistic. Then the Maura's expression changed to a wide smile and finally she laughed with Jane.

"_Omg,"_ Maura muttered when she thought of Grandie.

"_Don't worry. She's 15 and I bet she knows that stuff like that happens in" Jane_ paused as she realized that she had been about to say in relationships.

Maura patted her shoulder feeling the brunette's uneasinessand she knew about Janes feelings and that it scared her friend to put a name on it. _ "its ok"_ she told Jane and smiled.

No, it's not, Jane thought but said nothing more.

"_So, you're not in a relationship, eh?"_ Lola chuckled and looked at Maura and Jane when the group had gathered for breakfast.

The brunette rolled her eyes taking a deep breath. It was really about time to grow up and face it_. "Well, to be honest we are in a relationship. Right Maur?"_ she finally said and glanced to the blonde who lifted an eyebrow.

"_We are?" _Maura just couldn't resist teasing Jane. Still unbelieving that Jane had just managed to say what she hadn't been able to say half an hour earlier. So, couldn't harm to hear it again she thought, her heart jumping in joy. She chuckled and kept looking at Jane with a teasing expression.

"_For heavens sake. Yes! I declare this a relationship and I love her." _The brunette finally exclaimed firmly.

"_So, ladies and uh….. never mind. We have a new couple in the house_." Molly cheered as Maura hugged Jane whispering _"Well done Janie! I love you too."_ More cheering as they kissed which felt awkward to Jane, who had never ever showed affection in public. Anyway, not that kind of affection, not even with a man. The brunette cleared her throat, still feeling like a teenager.

Grandie stood up to hug her and then everybody else followed.

"_I want to take a picture."_ Molly said and they had to stay put until the girl had retrieved her phone from the cave. _"If we should ever get saved, you will have a nice memory."_ She smiled.

It had been Maura's idea to take Grandie to the top of the mountain and Jane loved it. The girl had had a shitty live so far and had been so brave. Is was just about time to show her that life could be different.

The young couple had asked if they could join them, so now the group of five was on the way.

The sun was on their side and the view was breathtaking.

"_We could also take a hike around the island someday." _Maura suggested to everybody's delight.

Jane sat down on a stone after a while, glancing at the girls who were listening to Maura's monologue about nature. The blonde was just beautiful. Even if she was wearing some hoody and baggy pants and not her usual fancy dresses. Jane also admired Maura because of how openminded she was. The brunette remembered their first encounter and smiled to herself. The blonde was a clever girl and she was proud to be her girlfriend.

When she got tired from watching, Jane laid back on the sun warmed stone and closed her eyes to take a little nap.

She dreamt about a helicopter until she felt a punch in her side and an excited Maura pointing to the sky. She couldn't believe it. She had already almost given up hope. But there it was. The miracle she had prayed for just landed a few meters away on the island.

The brunette watched as the door slid open and a man climbed out. He ran in a ducked position to them and greeted them with a friendly smile.

The blades of the helicopter stopped turning and suddenly they could understand what he was saying.

The man asked them a lot of questions. Afterwards they were brought to the helicopter.

"_Oh no"_ Maura said. _"I left my purse at the camp." _

Jane chuckled. _"One day somebody will find it and be thankful for the salt and pepper."_

"Well, I hope not." Maura stated in a typical Maura dry manner and put a helmet over her head. Damn it! Jane thought. She even looks sexy with that helmet. Then she thought that Maura now didn't look like coming out of a fashion magazine as usual. But she would be a great model for a company selling survival stuff. She looked really hot. She decided to take one last good glance at a Maura in her baggy pants and a hoody. She would probably never see her in such clothes again. But the blonde looked in her dresses much better anyway.

Now it was Janes turn to put on the helmet on. Molly kept taking pictures and hopped around in excitement. _"If I ever find this on social media, I will kill you." _Jane wiggled with her finger and felt lighthearted to. She couldn't wait to call her mother to give her the good news that she was alive. Well, at the end it was a little ironic wasn't it, that she had survived her job, which she had then given up to teach in order to be safe, to finally almost die in a plane crash and get lost on an island.

Maura tried to kiss her, but this proved to be a hard task. Both women had to laugh as their helmets kept crashing as they tried. They smiled at each other and Jane suddenly wasn't so scared anymore about their future. She was sure, that they would work something out. Her heart bumped faster as she felt Maura's hand taking hers for the first time. The brunette looked down and then at Maura. _"I love you." _She said, but the blades started turning just in that moment, so her declaration probably got lost. Jane rolled her eyes and squeezed Maura's hand softly. The blonde squeezed back, and both smiled at each other again.

As there were no more seats left in the helicopter, they showed the pilot where to find Joey, Sandy and Harry. Then they were flown to an airplane carrier. Some guy introduced himself as John and brought them to the inside of the ship.

Jane just couldn't stop glancing around. As a big fan of top gun, she was absolutely curious. The brunette was deceived when John forbid them to go outside without permission. Even Janes whining and Maura's flirtatious winking with the eyes didn't help. _"You stay inside!"_ the tall man said.

The group followed him through narrow corridors and staircases and finally arrived at the showers. _"Hell yeah!"_ Lola exclaimed what the rest of the group thought. A female officer arrived with some track suits and sneakers.

"_You have ten minutes!"_ John told them as he closed the door behind him.

"_I don't know about you guys, but I'm definitely going to stay longer than ten minutes." Grandie_ stated very determined as she started to undress.

Jane glanced at Maura who seemed to think the same as she did: making love under warm and soothing water would be wonderful. But no chance. They giggled as they got undressed themselves. Jane glancing with longing at Maura's body. She wasn't surprised to find Maura staring at her body too. Eyes full of desire locked for a while, and both had a sheepish grin on their faces as they started to shower.

"_What is he going to do if we don't come out after ten minutes?"_ Grandie wondered and chuckled.

"_I bet he can't help. I don't think that he is going to come in."_ Maura replied and chuckled too. But how wrong she was. Jane had no watch on her, but she could tell, that it was pretty sure only ten minutes when the door opened, and the female officer appeared.

"_Time is over ladies."_ She shouted as if they were deaf.

"_Oh please, just some more minutes. We haven't showered in ten days." _Grandie pleaded with dog eyes.

Jane could see how the woman in the doorway hesitated. Then she shot a look over her shoulder turning back with a light conspiratorially smile on her face_. "Ok, but don't tell anybody."_ She whispered and left the room.

They all cheered, and Jane truly enjoyed the warm water running over her body with closed eyes when she felt a body next to her.

"_Sexual harassment!"_ she shrieked, and the girls laughed.

"_its just your girlfriend."_ Lola said rolling her eyes feigning not to note that it was a joke.

"_Awww, yes. I almost forgot I have one."_ Jane stated half giggeling and earned a nudge to her side.

"_What? I can't help, it's so new." _She chuckled about her joke.

"_I was just going to offer to soap your back. But now…"_ Maura acted as if she was offended but she couldn't hide her amusement about the jokes either.

Jane would have loved her friend doing that but they would have to save that for when they were home. Some very inappropriate pictures popped up in her mind. _"Uhh, better not"_ she said and winked at the blonde. And Maura understood. It would have been torture for her too after all.

When the officers head reappeared in the door again, they quickly dressed up and followed her to a tiny room down the corridor. There were six bunkbeds, three on each side_. "This is were you are going to sleep."_ She told them_." But first you will get something to eat."_

The group followed the officer down more tiny corridors and tiny staircases until they reached their destination. The food was good, and they all dug in as they were starving.

The officer got pretty busy answering questions. Molly wanted to have something to load her phone. Lola wanted to know when they would get back to civilization. Maura kept asking questions about the ship. How much people and so on and so forth. But the most important question of all was: When will we get to call our siblings to tell them that we are fine.

After some twenty minutes the rest of the survivors were brought into the room by John. Joey was beaming like a little boy because of the helicopter flight. Sandy seemed to be happy to see the others again. And Harry had his typical grumpy expression on his face.

"_Now that I probably missed the deal I could as well have stayed on the island_." He stated and the women laughed. It was good to know that the other ones were fine too. After some chatting and exchanging some of their adventures all eight were escorted back to their rooms.

Jane groaned as she hopped on one of the top bunk beds. Maura who was still standing in the aisle between the beds rolled her eyes. _"Oh, come on Jane",_ she said. _"They can't be that bad."_

Again Dr. Maura Isles was wrong. And that two times within an hour. _"These are horrible!"_ she stated in disbelief as she had climbed into the bed under Janes. _"and so tiny."_ Jane pointed out. She could hardly stretch out her legs, and if she lay on her back she almost feared to fall out. And if she turned to her side, her shoulder almost hit the ceiling.

"_Everything on this ship is tiny."_ Grandie stated and tried to find a comfortable position in her bunk.

"_That's true. Well otherwise they wouldn't be able to house almost 5000 people_." Maura noted understanding the sense of the whole thing but still feeling sorry for her friend. She has really nice long legs. Maura thought and chuckled.

"_Yeah, you can chuckle. You're petite."_ Jane said and chuckled too.

Jane pulled her phone from the pocket and switched it on. To her surprise she still had a little bit of batterie left. And some signal. The messages kept popping in and loads of notifications of missed calls. 75% percent were from her mum.

John had told them earlier, that they would get the chance to contact their loved ones after dinner. The reason for that delay was, that the NTBS needed time to inform families and loved ones of the passengers fates. So, they sat around in their room and waited.

"…_.. 8 survivors of flight fg269 to Paris have been located on an island today. The NTSB stated that they can't release the names of the surviving passengers, but they are on the way, contacting the families. Now, back to you Nathalie."_

"_We made it to the news"_ Molly mumbled.

Lola patted her shoulder. Hearing the report had silenced them all a bit. It was as if reality hit them and the shock was all over them again.

"_I need to call Ma!"_ Jane ranted. Right in that moment her phone went dead.

John appeared after what seemed to be an eternity and led them to a room with a phone.

Jane wanted to call her mother badly but still offered the other ones to go first. _"No Jane, go ahead."_ Lola said.

The brunette felt Maura's hand touching hers. She was glad for her girlfriend's support. She dialed her mothers' number and felt overwhelmed as her mother picked up right after the first ring. She didn't know what to say.

"_Hi ma! Its me."_ she greeted her mother, holding the telephone receiver in a way that Maura could listen and talk too.

"_Janie? Is this really you?"_ Angela sounded as if she had cried. The brunette could hear that the whole family was talking excited in the background. The blonde woman squeezed her hand and made Jane smile. _"I'm fine guys. And Maura is fine too. We come home as soon as possible." _The first person Jane saw when leaving the room was Gradie. _"I'm happy for you."_ The girl said and smiled. Jane decided in that moment to offer the girl to meet her family_. "I'm not sure if the child protective service..."_ Gradie started. _"We will find a way." _The brunette said calmly and confident.

Now it was Gradies turn to cry. The three women hugged each other. Jane still couldn't believe that they had made it. Especially after seeing the pictures on the news earlier.

"_What are you doing Jane?"_ Maura whispered as long feet appeared in front of her bunkbed.

"_I need some air. I feel like a prisoner."_ She whispered back.

"_But we are not allowed to…" _

Jane knew that it was Maura's nature to always think like that. But she also knew that it was in Maura's nature too to ignore some rules voluntarily.

So, she took the blonde by the hand and led her through the corridors.

"_Well I hope we don't get lost"_ Maura whispered. Jane had to admit that she had a good point. But still…. _"schhhhht…."_ The brunette said and lifted her finger to her lips_. "Don't you shhhh me!"_ Maura whispered with a serious look on her face, but Jane could see her girlfriend smiling into the dark and chuckled .

They finally found their way to the highest deck, giggling like kids who were high from too much hormones.

Jane watched Maura taking a deep breath.

"_I'm sure you were a terrible kid at school."_ she said after a while.

"_I don't see why you say that"_ Jane replied and giggled. Maura rolled her eyes and lifted her hand to push a black curl behind Janes ears. It didn't take long and they were kissing.

They didn't dare to go further even though they would have wanted to make love. But with possible video surveillance in mind…. _"I love you Jane."_ Maura said with a soft smile on her lips. _"I love you too Maur."_ Jane replied and kissed her girlfriend again.

"_Ma is going to be surprised. But she will love it."_ The brunette stated, sucking in the fresh air.

"_We need to talk about what we are going to do now Jane." _Maura said with furrowed eyebrows.

"_I know."_ The brunette looked out to the ocean.

"_I don't want to be so far away from you."_ Jane noted and felt fear creeping up her heart. She hoped that Maura wouldn't start with: its jus a short time, its not such a big distance… she could be like that sometimes. So damn logic and rational.

"_I don't want that either."_ Maura said softly and Jane felt the relieve wash all over her. The brunette pulled her girlfriend closer and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Both sighed.

"_How about we try to get our old jobs back?"_ Jane asked. The idea had come to her mind earlier that day.

Again, relieve when the blonde agreed. Jane felt a flutter in her gut hoping that it would be ok. She hadn't signed her contract with the FBI yet. They were probably not going to be happy about her decision not to come and teach after all, but she was sure that it was going to be ok. Jane was more concerned about getting back her job as a detective. It was possible that it wasn't vacant anymore.

The brunette bit her lips and asked Maura about her job in Paris. But the blonde seemed to be very relaxed about it. Stating that she would resign from the job for personal reasons_. "Of course, I'm not giving them too much details. But I think they will understand it all the same."_

Jane nodded and hoped that Maura was right.

"_I think that it won't be a problem either to get my old job back." _The blonde continued_. "They literally begged me not to leave because they have a lack of MEs."_

Both women became quiet and looked at the ocean.

They headed back to their room after a while, almost needing double the time they had needed to get to the roof because they had got lost several times. This was due to the fact, that all corridors looked alike


	9. Chapter 9

It had been 3 days since they were saved. It took another ride with the helicopter to fly to an airbase where they were once again put into some accommodation. Jane stretched and yawned while Maura was deep in meditation on the bed.

They had been offered counseling on the ship, in groups of four but also alone. But Jane found nothing more smoothening than a warm bath and some privacy. The blonde had tried to talk her in to go to the shriek, but she had constantly denied doing so. Jane Rizzoli was not the type to go to a shriek. Never had been.

Her body embraced the warmth of the water and the bubbles. A deep sigh escaped her as her body glided into the tub. She closed her eyes and let her mind drift off to wherever it wanted to go.

The NTSB had come to interview them about the crash. After finding out, that they had no valuable information, the survivors were informed that they would be free to leave the next day. The airline would provide free tickets for their ride home, but Jane wasn't too fond of taking a plane soon, so they had decided to rent a car or ride the train.

The call to her mother had been very short the other day but since she had had the possibility to charge her phone, the brunette wrote Angela every day short messages to update her. Though she hadn't told her mother about Maura and her yet because she wanted to do that in person.

She had called the child protective service and had had some serious talks with them. Now, at the end they had been only too happy to hear that an agent from the FBI and a former chief ME were willing to take Gradie home to Boston.

She smiled when she remembered how excited Cavagnaugh had been, when she had called him to ask if they could still use her at the homicide unit. At the beginning their relationship had been very complicated, but now he knew that she was doing a great job and wanted to have her back. "You would be a waste on the FBI anyway." He had stated.

As it turned out, her position was even still vacant even though many people were eager to get it. "I will put your name out to the bosses. I'm pretty sure, that they will like the idea to have you back. But I can't promise you anything." Her former boss had said. Jane knew that it was not to him alone to decide who was getting the position, but she was sure that Cavanaugh would do everything possible to bring her back into the team.

It had been much easier for the blonde to get her job back. The Sorbonne university hadn't been all too excited as she told them that she wouldn't take the teaching job after all, but it appeared that they understood her situation. The blonde had told them, that she had to resign from the job out of personal reasons which after all wasn't a lie. And she was careful not to elaborate these personal reasons too much.

Suddenly Jane felt some motion in the water and opened her eyes as her girlfriend made her way into the tub.

They heard a knock on the door just when Jane was about to make a move.

"are we expecting someone?" the brunette asked with furrowed eybrows.

"Not that im aware of." Maura replied. "Shall I go and check?"

"No, let it knock. Cant be that urgent." Jane mumbled.

Another persistent knock made her leave the bath and she put on a dressing gown while going to the door.

She just couldn't believe her eyes when she found Frankie standing on the doorstep.

The siblings hugged each other.

"Ready to come home Janie?" her brother asked. "You wrote ma that you would be allowed to go home tomorrow. I figured two things. First that you wouldn't want to fly, and second, that you needed some decent clothing."

And third that I wanted to go home as quick as possible." Jane smirked.

"yeah, that too." Frankie laughed.

Jane really loved her brother and was deeply touched that Frankie had driven such a long way to pick her up.

"Who is it Jane?" Maura interrupted them, coming out of the bath. When she saw Frankie she almost jumped in joy.

"and guess what?" Jane asked, proud of how thoughtful her brother was. "he brought us something to wear."

Frankies face became a little reddish and he looked down to his feet.

"Ma, still had a key to your house. I didn't mean to intrude, so, I hope its ok." He turned to Maura.

"Sure Frankie." Maura beamed and took the duffle bag out of his hand.

"and what about me?" Jane asked and acted offended.

"Sorry Jane, yours was much easier. Actually your closet has 10 percent of the size of Mauras."

The blonde started to laugh. "Yeah, she keeps telling me that I have nothing to wear." Jane smirked.

"Lets just get dressed and out of here Jane." Maura stated. "and of course we have to find Gradie.

"Uh yeah. Im going to take care of that. Seeing that It wont take me as long as it does you, to get dressed."

Maura completely ignored Janes words turning to Frankie to explain who Gradie was and that she would join them. He left the room and waited outside while the ladies got dressed. Jane came out first with the duffle bag in hand, knocking on the neigbours door.

Gradie looked like she had just been awoken, her hair a complete mess. Jane chuckled. "Time to leave." She told the 15 year old and lifted the duffle bag. You find some Jeans, tshirts and pullover in there. Just help yourself."

The young girl looked at the brunette in disbelief. "Where…?"

"Just get dressed. I will tell you later." The brunette said and whinked.

Maura and Frankie were already waiting by the car, when the two finally arrived. "this is my little brother." Jane told Gradie who shook Frankies hand. "Frankie, this is Gradie." She presented them.

They drove off after saying goodbye to the others. Jane turned her head around to see them wave then she watched the world change as they left the base. It was rush hour, so the streets were full of people and cars. The lots were only too glad, when Frankie suggested to have dinner and drive home later, when the streets were less busy.

Jane ordered a greasy burger and some French fries and some beer. She glanced at Frankie who looked at her smiling. The brunette was glad that he didn't ask any questions. She still felt far to overwhelmed. And she was tired and hungry.

Maura and Gradie appeared to be tired and hungry too. Jane sighed deeply after taking a gulp of her beer. Omg, she had missed civilization.

"Why are they all looking at us?" Gradie asked with an uncomfortable expression on her face. The brunette glanced around to see many faces turning away from them. She shot Frankie a questioning look.

"Youve been all over the news over the last days." He told them. "we even saw you coming off the helicopter at the airbase. Sorry, I thought it would be ok to grab some food, not expecting that so many people would recognize you."

"its ok Frankie. You really couldn't know." Jane replied before taking another bite from her delicious burger. She had no intention to let the others spoil her meal.

"We have a six hour drive ahead of us." Frankie informed them. "Ma, is going to stay up. So, maybe you better take a good nap."

"are you joking? I don't think that I will be able to sleep." She looked to Maura who was hiding a yawn behind the back of her hand. Ok, maybe the other two would sleep. She definitely not.

The brunette offered Gradie to climb into the passengers seat while she planned on sitting next to the blonde. She evaded Frankies puzzled look as everybody agreed to the seating arrangements. She knew that she was up to some questions later, because Jane Rizzoli never voluntarily took the back seat. So, it was no surprise as she caught Frankie staring in the rearview mirrors several times.

They took a break after 3 hours. Maura had almost immediately fallen asleep after dinner and Jane admired her for being so relaxed. She had spent most of the time looking out of the window, being glad to get out of the car to stretch her legs. The brunette now knew, why she usually refused to sit in the back.

Maura and Gradie stayed in the car while Frankie and she went to a little shop. First, they walked in silence. The brunette took some deep breaths from the cold autumn air and looked up into the stars. She realized that she was craving for coffee.

Frankie opened the door for her and gave her some money to buy whatever she wanted, while he went to the toilet. The man at the counter stared at her and then his eyes went to the TV screen behind him where she could see herself climbing out of the helicopter earlier that day.

She feigned ignorance and ordered two cappuccinos. Jane handed one to Frankie after leaving the shop. Both stood in the cold while sipping the hot beverage.

"I'm really glad you came to pick us up." Jane stated, leaning against a pole, sighing.

He softly chuckled into the dark. "you're welcome Janie." He said and shot her a warm look.

More sipping in silence.

"so, Maura and you…?" he asked in his teasing little brothers voice.

Jane knew that he was fishing for an answer.

"Yes, Maura and I." she chuckled noting how easy it had gotten for her to talk about it.

"Awwww" her brother said and smiled. "Good catch sis." He added cheekily.

"I just love her." The brunette noted. "Although I would haver never thought of myself as being gay."

"I think its always the person whom you fall in love with." He smiled and shrugged. "and you and Maura have been dancing around each other for a loooooong time."

"Was it so obvious?" Jane asked Frankie.

"there never was talk, if that's what you mean. You were who you were." He shrugged again.

"but now that you're together it's obvious yes." He took the last sip and threw the empty cup into a nearby trashcan. Jane followed and they returned to the car for the last leg of their journey.

He let her drive now sitting next to Maura who was still in a deep sleep. Jane loved driving and felt much better after a coffee and when she saw the street ahead of her. The highway was almost empty and there was good music on the radio which lifted her spirits immensely.

She realized that Maura and she hadn't talked about handling their coming out to Angela with Frankies surprising appearance and all. She took the opportunity when Maura woke up half an hour away from Boston.

Maura yawned and looked puzzled when she found a widley grinning Frankie next to her and Jane at the wheel.

"You know how she is…" Frankie said in a teasing tone making a gesture with his hand..

"Oh yes." Maura mumbled and chuckled.

"So how are we going to tell ma?" Jane interrupted the conversation on the back seat.

The brunette could see some panic and the blondes eyes. "I don't know…" Maura said.

Jane gave it a thought. "I d like to walk up to the house holding your hands." She said after a while. "And then we are just going to say it."

She was surprised that she wasn't nervous when she pulled into the driveway of her mothers house. She was just glad to be finally home again. With the doctor…

They hadn't even had time to get out of the car when Angela already stood to the drivers door. Jane shut down the enginge and put the brakes on and then flew into her mothers arms. Angela was crying and plastered loads of kisses on the brunettes face. "Jane Clementine Rizzoli" she mumbled into Janes thick black hair. "Don't you ever do this to your mother again!" Jane pulled the older woman clocer once more before letting go of her.

Jane saw a very shy Gradie getting out of the car and noted that the girl looked lonely and lost. She walked around the car, and hugged the girl. In the meantime Angela gave Maura the same hug she had given to Jane some minutes before. Then she pulled away as Jane approached with the teenager.

"Ma, this is Gradie. She became part of our family on the island."

Gradie had a very shy and anxious expression on her face which fell off as soon as Angela tended her a hand and greeted her heartly. "Welcome!" the older woman said and shot a worried look at Jane as she saw a tear running down the young girls face.

"no need to cry" she told Gradie and hugged her wondering what had happened to the nice girl. Gradie cried even more in her arms. "oh my" Angela said. "I don't know what has happened to you, but I feel that it must be horrible. Good that you are part of our family now."

Jane shot a look at Maura saying that now was not the time to come out. They followed the matriarch into her cozy home, where it smelled like lasagna.

"Ma, its almost 1am!" Jane exclaimed as Angela offered them some of her delicious dish.

"well I had to do something… to simply wait would have driven me crazy."

"Now I know where Jane has that from." Maura chuckled and shot Jane a teasing look. The brunette just rolled her eyes.

"actually im very hungry." Maura smiled at Angela.

"See, at least someone reasonable in this family." She stated and went off to pick the lasagna.

Everybody ate, still starving from the previous days. Jane looking into the round. Pleased.

After a short tale about their life on the island, Jane and Maura packed a sleepy Gradie into Frankies car and let him drive them to the blondes house on beacon hill.

Gradie was widely awake as she saw the mansion, as she called it. Very much to Mauras disagreement who kept saying, its not that fancy, in a humble way, which didn't really match her.

It felt good to be back again. How on earth could Jane ever have thought about leaving? She thought when stretching out her feet on the couch after showing Gradie to the guestroom.

Jane stopped in the door of Mauras bedroom. This is where they had spent their first night together. where she had asked Maura if it was just a sleepover or her way of telling Jane that she felt attracted to her. The brunette looked at the bed, where they had so many nights as quote friends. And Frankies words popped into her mind: now in hindsight it was obvious.

"Are you going to stay there or will you join me in bed?" Mauas sleepy voice reached her mind.

"Is that an invitation?" Jane asked suddenly in the mood to flirt with the blonde.

Maura who was caught off guard hesitated. "Well, this is my way to tell you, that I'm attracted to you Jane Rizzoli." She put on a sheepish smile on. Well played Maura, Jane thought.

"Are there any requirements I have to fulfill before I can join you?" Jane asked cheekily.

"Yes, you have to get undressed. Its only sleeping naked here. You know the rule."

This point was also definitely Mauras. Even though Jane had never slept naked in that bed. But she was to do so tonight for sure.

The brunette slowly pulled her shirt over her head and could already see the desire in Mauras eyes.

"how naked?" she teased the blonde who swallowed at the sight of Janes wonderful upper body. Her own hands cupping her full breasts, Jane felt the sudden wetness between her legs and her erected nipples which were sreaming for Mauras tongue. The brunette was surprised at the sensation from touching herself in front of the blonde. She would never have expected how it aroused her.

Maura swallowed once more. "you will have to get rid of your trousers as well, im sorry." She managed to say with a husky tone not looking sorry at all, licking her lips.

"oh" Jane said and playfully looked down her body and started to open the button of her jeans. After opening the zipper, she pulled down the jeans. Touching her own long legs glancing at Maura who literally looked as if she would start to drool.

"Am I allowed to keep these on?" she asked with a husky voice, moaning as she touched her middle seemingly by coincidence.

"Nope." Maura whispered under her ragged breath. "naked means no fabric on you at all."

Jane took of her underwear. Now she was standing naked in front of the blonde, shivering, but not because of the temperature of the room. She felt the wetness between her legs and her clit, which was all hard and throbbing.

It took her a lot of strength to walk like that over to the bed where she pulled the cover from Mauras body to sit on her midst. the blonde gasped as she felt Janes wetness and heat on her. On that spot which seemed to be most sensible when it came to touches.

The brunette lent down to play with Mauras nipples. Her tongue touching and teasing them until they were hard as stone. She felt pleased as she heard Mauras moaning and felt her stir under her. She felt a body pressing against her pelvis which sent a wave of sensations through her body to her brain.

She laid down between the blondes' legs so that their most sensible points touched and started grinding hers on Maura's.

Afterwards they stayed on top of each other. Jane stroking over the blonde's head, kissing her from time to time. Both tired but smiling.


	10. Chapter 10

The next day Maura and Jane awoke to the heavenly smell of fresh coffee and dressed up quickly to go fetch some in the kitchen. A somewhat sad Grandie sat at the island and cupped her head in her hands. Child protective service would come and pick her up in the afternoon which mad both women unhappy.

Jane couldn't help but feeling overwhelmed as she sipped her beverage in silence. Far too much had happened over the last months she thought. She searched for comforting words to say to Gradie, but she had none. Things could turn very fast as she had learned lately, and she didn't want to make empty promises. The girl had had enough of them in her short live. So, it would be highly unfair to say something wrong.

As the brunette glanced to Maura, she saw, that the blonde was also deep in thought.

The sadness still hovered over them as they sat on the couch watching some movie, to which nobody really payed attention too. Janes mind drifted off to the conversation Maura and she had had the previous night about how to help that girl. But they hadn't been able to come up which a solution which was highly frustrating. Of course working out something would need time. At least Gradie had them if they needed something or if she was lonely. They could go and see her on weekends. Maybe she could spend some weekends at their place.

There was a lot of talking with the service ahead. There must be a solution to make that girl feel less lost and more happy she thought to herself, while Maura went to heat the leftovers from Angela's lasagna. They all more or less poked in their meal until the doorbell rang. Jane watched Gradie stand up with a sigh and fetching her few belongings which were stuffed in one of Maura's sports bags.

"I guess this is for me." Gradie stated as she put her shoes on.

Jane nodded. "You have our numbers. Call anytime you want." She told the young girl.

"Thank you for all." Gradie replied and gave them a hug before leaving the sad couple behind. The brunette watched as the car disappeared behind the next corner and sighed.

When closing the door behind them they hugged each other.

"We just need time to sort things out." The brunette said later when they were getting ready to do some grocery shopping.

"Sure." Maura confirmed.

"Another thing is sure." Jane mumbled when they walked through the aisles of the store. "No fish!"

Maura started to laugh. "Shame, I have so many good recepies."

Jane smirked and blew her nose. It hit her, that this was the first time they actually were grocery shopping together. Just like a couple would do. It was nice she thought. And interesting seeing as each of them dropped their favorites into the cart. Of course, Maura was more on the healthier side. Good that she has me, Jane thought and chuckled as she kept adding unhealthy stuff like cookies, ice cream and beer to their purchase.

She realized that Maura watched her do so without saying something and wondered why. Maybe the blonde had been abducted by some aliens she mused and chuckled.

"So, you are asking yourself why I let you buy all this stuff?" Maura stated three aisles later reading Janes mind.

"Actually, yes, I do." Jane replied with furrowed eyebrows.

Maura seemed to think for a while before saying: "Because this is so much you, and I love you. I don't want you to be unhappy. And I know that you usually don't overdo it. Moreover, life is too short to not enjoy it."

Jane smiled at Maura. "Good point Dr. McGyver." She stated.

Shopping together had been an easy task, but putting the groceries away proved to be a real challenge. Jane had never understood Maura's storage system. So, after getting tired of asking the blonde what to put where, she just started to handle the groceries over to Maura so that she could put them to the right spot.

The doorbell rang around 6 pm and Jane who was just putting some of her trousers into a vacant spot in Mauras dressing room, had an idea of who the visitor could be. Damn, Maura needed to vacate more spots for her stuff she thought as she walked downstairs where Angela just hung her coat to the wardrobe.

They had swung by Janes apartment after the store to fetch some things, the brunette couldn't do without. And both women followed Angela's eyes to the boxes which were still close to the entrance.

"Are you moving out?" she asked Maura after greeting them. "Or are you moving in?" she asked and looked at her daughter. Jane became incredibly skilled in talking about her love, so she was proud when she said: "actually I'm moving in."

Angela's jaw dropped and the lovers chuckled. "Yes, long story. But if you want, we can sit in the living room and tell you over some wine." Maura offered.

"I need to sit down for sure now." Janes mother noted after picking up her jaw. "And wine sounds great too."

Maura touched the brunette's shoulder slightly when heading off to the kitchen. Jane and her mother went into the living room in the meantime.

"This is not a joke, is it? Because you know, if you fool your mother…." Jane tilted her head and smiled. "No Ma, no joke. I can hardly believe it myself, but this is for real."

"When…?" the older woman asked.

"On the island. I mean I had had feelings for Maura forever, but it was just complicated. I guess neiter of us wanted to lose what we had. So, we kept silent." Jane paused to give her mother some time.

"So, youre gay?"

"I don't know about Jane, but I'm gay for sure." Maura stated when entering the room with some glasses and a bottle on a tablet.

Jane glanced at the blonde who was smiling at mother and daughter.

"Im gay too." Jane noted and looked at her mother.

Angela spend some time thinking about the new situation.

"Well, let me tell you that im really happy for both of you. I truly believe that you belong together and that you make a great match. So id like to toast to you and your future."

Jane gave Maura a quick kiss on the cheek and lifted her glass to meet the others.

Angela offered to help moving. Jane and Maura hadn't really talked about moving together now. They had just started to bring some stuff over to Maura's. And maybe add more and more over the next months. So they told Janes mother their plan.

"you re right, take your time. Just let me know if you need any help." Angela stated and left after some more island stories.

Jane spend a long time after that on the couch taking the situation in enjoying the silence and the atmosphere. Maura had a great test for decoration and furniture for sure. And the blonde had created herself a beautiful home over the last years. The brunette let her eyes wander around the room thinking of how much she loved Maura.

This was her home now too, she thought and felt happy.

"Hey there!" the blonde greeted Jane and handed her a new glas of wine. Jane lifting her feet to put them on Maura's legs as she sat. "How about watching some TV?" the brunette asked and stretched out her arms to reach for the remote on the coffee table.

Maura leaned back and relaxed, smiling. "Ok, but no gameshow please. And no true crime." Jane chuckled. They searched for a while until they found a documentary on the Pacific Ocean.

"Shame that the weather was so cold" Jane remarked when she saw some beautiful fish move over the TV screen. "We could have dived or something."

Maura nodded. "I would have loved that."

Jane took another sip of wine and kept watching. She loved the underwater scenery. She suddenly felt so relaxed that she fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

„You're the cutest thing I've seen all day." Jane told Maura as she gave her a kiss. The blonde leaned in a little throwing the dish towel on the kitchen island to grab the brunette's waist.

"mhmmhmm" Maura made. "That's nice." She stated after they had finished to kiss. "And you Jane Rizzoli are the nicest thing I've seen all day."

Jane chuckled.

"Maur, you're working in a morgue. With dead people. That's easy to say to you."

The blonde laughed before becoming serious again. "This is highly unfair Jane. I'm surrounded by living people too."

Jane chuckled again and took a beer out of the fridge offering Maura one. The blonde accepted and took up cooking again. It had been their first day at work since the plane crash. Cavanaugh had called the week before to give the brunette the good news that she got her old Job back.

Its been the first day since weeks on which they didn't see each other all day long. Jane had been busy with a new homicide while Maura had worked on a case for another detective.

"So, how was your first day at work?" Jane asked the blonde sniffing to guess what was in the pots. Whatever it was, it smelled great and the brunette couldn't wait to eat as she was very hungry.

"Not so bad I guess." Maura said while stirring some red-orange sauce. "How was yours?"

Jane took a sip of her beer and sat down on a chair at the island. "Not so bad either." She replied, telling Maura that Korsak had been replaced by a new detective who was still green behind his ears. "he very much reminded me of Frost, when he came to us." Jane noted, remembering the young detective who had died in a car crash a few years ago. She still missed him terribly. So did Frankie and Maura.

"He almost puked over the whole crime scene. Pike wasn't pleased at all." Pike was the worst ME the brunette had ever encountered. A real pain in the ass. The blonde had once described his work as sloppy and Jane could only agree.

Maura chuckled. "Oh yes, that sounds like Frost. I take it as a good sign, because once Frost got used to dead bodies he was one of the best."

"True." Jane replied and wondered if Frost was now some guardian angel or if he solved crimes in heaven or wherever he was. What a curious thought, she smiled.

"I assume Pike jumped to fast conclusions as always?" Maura interrupted the brunette's thoughts.

"You bet. Maybe you can look over the case tomorrow?"

"Sure!" the blonde replied putting down her beer after taking a gulp.

Both continued their conversation at the table as dinner was ready. Some delicious Indian food which name Jane couldn't even pronounce. What a shame she thought, I will never be able to ask Maura to cook it again, because I'm not even going to be able to remember the name.

The blonde was very amused about Janes tries to pronounce the name. Repeating it repeatedly in order to help her. Both laughed so hard at the outcome that tears rolled down her face.

"I love you." The blonde said.

"I love you too." Jane replied and took another bite.

They went to bed after spending most of the evening in the living room. Maura reading some medical journals and Jane watching some true crime documentary. Joey had made her curious, so she had watched one. Now she was awfully addicted to them. The brunette found them very interesting and funny. And she loved watching them next to Maura, who gave comments now and then. The blonde definitely gained some serious skills in sarcasm Jane noted as she slid in between the sheets after her shower.

Gradie  
-

The young girl was sitting at the window of her dorm room, gazing out into the dark. Whenever she felt sad, her mind went to her good times with Jane and Maura. Gradie missed them a lot and she hadn't seen them since the child protective service had picked her up from the house in beacon hill.

Jane wrote her daily which made her miss them even more. But it also made her happy, because she knew, that she wasn't forgotten. It made all the bullying from the others more bearable.

Gradie opened the message she had received toady from Jane and Maura. "Hey, good news. Be prepared to get a visit from the two crazy old ladies this weekend. Xx J&M"

She couldn't help but smile. The young girl was looking forward to spending some time with them. Only two more days she thought and went to bed.

"Come on Maur!" Jane shouted. "We are going to be late. I want to give that girl every possible minute."

Maura popped her head out of the bath. She looked very funny, Jane noted, because she had put mascara on only one side yet.

"I'm almost done." The blonde stated and disappeared into the bathroom again.

Jane had asked Angela if she wanted to come with them, knowing that her mother liked Gradie.

"Such a polite and sympathetic girl!" she had repeated a few times. So, it was no surprise that Angela was happy to join them. Besides she loved spending time with Jane and Maura.

Angela was in a good mood and chatted all along the way to the boarding school. Jane was driving Maura's car, and Maura was giving her directions from the passenger's seat.

They all swallowed as the school came into sight. It was housed in an old Victorian mansion. The sign at the gate read: "Holy Marys' boarding school for girls."

"Hell, the name alone gives me goosebumps." Jane mentioned while driving down the graveled path to the entrance. She parked Maura's car in between two Mercedes. But the parking lot was otherwise empty.

"Rich people usually don't visit their children." Maura stated. "I only saw my mother and father for Christmas and maybe for Easter."

Angela was shocked as they climbed out of the car. Jane got more goosebumps as she took a closer look to the statues over the entrance. They were holding knifes and other torture instruments.

They had to ring the bell and a nuns wrinkled face appeared in the peephole. After telling the grumpy women that they were here for Gradie they had to wait five more minutes until the young girl emerged into the sunlight. After some cheers and hugs Jane shoed the whole family into the car.

"I don't want to stay here any longer." She noted.

"Says the woman who is addicted to horror and true crime." Maura teased the brunette.

"I have no problem as long as it stays on the screen." Jane defended herself.

They asked Gradie what she wanted to do. The 15-year-old stated that she had nothing special in mind.

"Museum of modern art first, afterwards dinner. Maura immediately said.

"Oooor, cinema with lots of sweets, and afterwards burger." Jane laid out her plan.

Gradie chuckled as she glanced from one to another. "This is really hard." She stated. "I like both."

Jane glanced at Maura who seemed to think the same thing: she was the perfect child for them.

"I'm for cinema." Angela said. "its been ages since I was last at the cinema."

Jane looked at her mother in the rear-view mirror. "Ma, it is Gradies day. We let her decide…"

"I don't see the problem. Today its cinema and we pick her up next weekend for the museum."

The young girls face lit up immediately. "I can only leave boarding school every second Saturday. but museum would be fine then too. If you have time." The last words were spoken in an insecure whisper.

"To hell, if they have no time. I have!" Angela said and winked at Gradie whose face brightened up immediately again.

They went to the cinema and checked which movies were playing. It was a fun afternoon with a great horror movie, lots of popcorn, coke and sweets. Afterwards they went to the dirty robber for greasy burgers and French fries.

"I hope she will be able to sleep." Maura said on their way home with some furrowed eyebrows.

"Oh, come on Maur! The movie wasn't that spooky." Jane claimed.

"No, you're right. But the food was pretty unhealthy."

Jane chuckled. She planned on asking Maura about adopting Gradie soon. They had already talked about it, and Maura had loved the idea. But so far, they had needed time to settle and get their own stuff done.

Jane thought that it was about time to take the steps necessary. She could see that Gradie was unhappy and missed them.

It was Maura who later started to talk about it herself. So, the deal was done. Maura would take care of I the next day. It wasn't sure how much of a chance they had. Seeing as they were not married and Jane had a dangerous job.

"Then I will adopt her." Angela had said, following the women's discussion from the backseat. "I raised three children. I have plenty of experience."

"And you did a great job at that." Maura replied, glancing at Jane.

Angela thanked the blonde and one could see that she was very proud.


	12. Chapter 12

Jane stood in the kitchen waiting for Maura to come down. Always have to wait for the women she thought and smiled. But that woman was certainly worth it. The brunette thought about the next steps in her case while preparing the blondes favorite tea.

She looked at her phone as it buzzed. "Thank you for the great day yesterday!" It was a message from Gradie. "our pleasure!" Jane typed quickly.

Maura was as beautiful as ever as she emerged into the kitchen and Jane couldn't help but be proud to call this stunning and brilliant woman her girlfriend. After a long kiss for greeting Jane grabbed her car keys to head to the precinct. It was necessary as they worked on different schedules. The brunette usually had the longer days and she wanted to get an early start to be prepared for some interviews with some suspects.

She was still sour at Pikes sloppiness and hoped that Maura would check the mans findings soon. They needed more information's and she didn't trust Pike. The brunette hoped to find time during the day to squeeze lunch with Maura in. They had a lot of talking to do about the adoption and all.

Unfortunately, she had too much work to do, so it was a cup of coffee in the afternoon instead of lunch.

"_Have you eaten Jane?"_ the ME asked the brunette with concern.

"_Nope. I haven't had time yet."_ Jane replied and watched Maura go over Pikes report.

"_I have some cheese.."_ the blonde stated. Jane rolled her eyes. _"its from the death fridge, right?"_

Maura sighed_. "I already told you Jane; cold air is cold air."_

The brunette snorted_. "I'm going to grab something from the café on my way back to the squad room." _She promised.

Maura appeared to not believe her but dropped the subject. She told her girlfriend that Pike had overseen a detail during the autopsy.

"_I knew it!"_ Jane exclaimed.

Maura chuckled to her friends' temper before becoming serious. _"I'm going to send you the report as soon as its corrected."_

Jane didn't stop by the café because she was deep in thought when she drove up to her desk. Maura had started the adoption process. But apparently it could take years until it was through. Of course, it could be faster. One never knew.

The brunette decided to call the lady from child protective service who was responsible for Gradies case. It was ridiculous she thought when dialing the number. The girl was already 15 and she needed help now not in two years.

The woman seemed to be surprised that someone was willing to adopt a 15-year-old. _"Don't get me wrong,"_ Jane heard her over the phone. _"but she is almost grown up. We have so many younger kids who need parents."_

The detective sighed. _"I know. But its Gradie we want. And as far as I know, she would love to be part of our family."_

"_You realize what adopting a child means, right?"_

Jane nodded to herself thinking about checking the lady's name in her database. Maybe she could blackmail her. On the other hand, she understood that people were weird, and the woman on the other hand of the line had probably seen a lot of stuff.

"_Why don't you come by at our place tonight so that we can talk all 3?"_ the brunette asked, following an intuition. She sensed that the woman on the other end was hesitating. _"That's not the usual way."_ She claimed but sounded tempted.

"I know that you do home visits before deciding if someone is suitable to foster or adopt." Jane gave her best to sound nice and convincing_. "And I Know that Gradie is not happy. We could help her. Maybe foster first, and if it goes well…."_

The woman from child protective service was silent for a moment. "If a child is unhappy, we try to find a better solution. We are not always slow in action." The last words sounded like a defense. The brunette rubbed her head wondering if she had pushed too far already.

"_You would also go for fostering?"_ the woman asked after a moment.

"_Yes!"_ Jane answered feeling hope again.

"_Ok, I think about it and come back to you." _The lady said.

The brunette thanked her and wondered when that would be. After hanging up, she focused on her work again.

Jane felt relieved when she turned her car into the driveway of beacon hill. The lights inside were on and she could hear some piano music when getting out of her car. She hurried as it was cold. After opening the door with her keys, she looked for Maura who was cooking some Chinese food.

"_Chinese food is very healthy!"_ Maura stated when she saw Janes facial expression.

"_I bet its because it almost only consists of vegetables?"_ the brunette snorted and ducked away from the dish towel which was thrown at her.

"_Okay, Okay, I surrender!"_ she said and laughed as she went to the fridge to pick some beer. She took it to the living room and relaxed on the couch while Maura manned the spoon again.

The brunette almost chocked on it when she heard the doorbell. Assuming that it was her mother she shouted into the kitchen_: "I have it!"_ and opened the door.

A tiny Chinese woman in her fifties presented herself as Mrs. Woo. She handed Jane a business card stating that she was from child protective service. _"As far as I remember you invited me to visit you tonight?"_ she asked Jane who was completely baffled. After the talk on the phone she hadn't expected the women's visit today. "Its part of our policy to come uninvited." Mrs. Woo said smiling while the brunette hung her coat in the wardrobe.

"_Beautiful house that you have."_ The chatty woman continued. Jane didn't know what to say. She felt nervous somehow. Besides she hadn't told Maura about her call yet.

She brought Mrs. Woo into the kitchen and presented her to the blonde. _"Is this dim sum I'm smelling?"_ the chines lady was not only chatty but also nosy. Maura shot Jane a lot of questioning looks saying: Explain!

Mrs. Woo was faster than Jane telling the blonde that she was here to inspect the home as they wanted to foster/adopt Gradie.

Jane could read Maura's mind and had to chuckle at the situation. _I get it, but what is this woman sniffing around in my pots?_ Stood easy to read on the blondes' face.

"_Would you like to see the house Mrs. Woo?"_ the brunette cleared her throat.

Thank god she was interested in doing so, Jane thought. She was pretty sure, that Maura was about to kill her. The blonde couldn't stand if people were sniffing around in her pots. The brunette had learned so a long time ago.

Maura seemed more relaxed when they came back half an hour later. She had even set the table for 3. Janes heart melted as she realized that the blonde would do anything to help Gradie.

Mrs. Woo accepted the invitation for dinner with a big grin telling them that her flat appeared to be so empty, since her son had left for college a few month ago.


	13. Chapter 13

Jane chuckled when crawling into bed a few hours later. Mrs. Woo had charmed Maura by saying that her dim sum was even better than her mothers. The blonde had impressed the social worker by talking with her in Chinese while the brunette had taken care of the dirty dishes.

All in all, the evening had gone well the brunette thought, but Mrs. Woo had given them no further information if she thought that they were suitable or not for fostering Gradie. Jane thought that it was fine as long as it wouldn't last years until they got the verdict.

"_What's so funny?"_ Maura asked and yawned.

"_Nothing. It was just an interesting evening."_ Jane stated as she dimmed the light after the blonde had also found her way into bed. It was almost midnight. She was probably going to pay for the long evening tomorrow by being tired the whole day. She was not looking forward to it.

The Chinese woman had asked them if they would be willing to change around some things in the house to make it more suitable for a teenager. Then she had spooked them with teenager habits, long party nights, destroyed furniture, giving them a whole list of bad scenarios which made both women swallow.

"_Damn that woman knows how to scare future foster parents."_ Jane said and giggled.

Maura nodded. "she almost got me though." The blonde admitted and laughed.

"_Yeah, me too."_ Jane laughed.

"_But I guess that they want to make sure, that people know what they are getting themselves into when fostering a child. It does harm a child, when its given back like some damaged goods. Gradie is the best example for how hard it can be."_

The brunette nodded. She understood that many people didn't think about the responsibility and consequences of fostering or adopting a child.

They talked for a little while longer until they fell asleep around 2 am in the morning.

Jane was in the shower when Maura stepped in right next to her. _"Do you mind?"_ the blonde asked, and the brunette tilted her head. She felt slightly aroused when she saw the water running down over Maura's body. The blonde's nipples were erected, and the water drops stayed on her soft skin, when the blonde stepped aside of the water jet to grab the soap.

Maura put some soap into her hand and started to let her hand glide over her body. She took some provoking long time for her nipples, playing with them and Jane felt her pulse raise. _"That's highly unfair."_ She stated, knowing that she was already running late for work after staying up so late the previous day.

The blonde grinned teasingly at the brunette.

And before Jane knew, she was pushed against the wall and the blondes mouth started to kiss her neck from behind. She could feel that she was becoming wet between her legs, knowing that it was not from the water. The blonde next cupped the brunette's breasts from behind, pressuring her own body against Janes. Feeling Maura's body so close against hers sent chills right down to her clit.

Another moan escaped Janes mouth as the she felt the blonde playing with her nipples. Her eyes shut, her hands against the walls of the shower, the brunette slightly spread her legs, when she felt the doctor's hands gliding downwards to her midst. _"oh yeah!"_ Jane whispered and held her breath awaiting the hand to find her wet and aching clit. The places which had been touched by Maura burned like fire and the brunette pushed her body against the blondes. She could hear a surprised gasp for air, when she did so and felt much more wet fluid

The brunette slightly spread her legs when one of the blonde's hands went to her belly. It was gliding down towards her midst. More moaning from both as Maura's hand reached Janes wet and aching clit. The detective stood against the wall and couldn't help but plead Maura to fuck her.

As the blonde did what she was asked, Jane could suddenly feel a finger entering her body and she almost exploded. Maura turned the brunette around and knelt down in front of her. Jane leaned her back to the wall, pulling her head high moaning, longing, pulsing… she felt Maura pull one of her legs over her shoulder and almost screamed when the blondes tongue touched her clit while her fingers slid inside her at the same time. The fingers were pushing deep, massaging and then pushing again causing the most incredible sensations in Janes lower body.

Jane felt more wetness coming out of her, listening to Maura, whose breath was ragged like hers. The brunette started to move her body up and down, pushing against the blonde's finger, moaning, hot until the orgasm rolled over her and left her gasping for air and with wobbly feet. Maura kissed her clit once more and then put her feet down from her shoulder.

She muttered "Omg, Maur." And pushed some of her black, curly hairs to where they belonged.

Following an idea, Jane lifted Maura who swung her legs around her and brought her to the bed. Both dropped, still wet – from the shower but also from the situation – onto the bed. Maura rolled Jane to her back and sat down on her midst. Jane pulled her closer so that she could play with Maura's nipples. The blonde started to grind herself on Janes thigh. And Jane watched as her girlfriend's face changed from a concentrated, almost painful expression to a relieved face. She always loved it when Maura screamed her name when coming and pulled her down next to her where they lay mesmerized and still breathless.

Jane reached for a blanket and pulled it over them as Maura started to shiver a little bit. The blonde put her head into Janes arms and mumbled _"Wow!"_

That was the best description for Janes feelings too. Unfortunately, her phone started buzzing on the nightstand and she knew that she couldn't stay much longer. She badly wanted to ignore it, but she couldn't.

"_Rizzoli."_ Maura watched as her girlfriend listened with furrowed eyebrows. _"Yeah, I'm on my way. I will notify Maura that she can come too. Keep Pikes away please."_

The blonde leaned back her head into the cushion to have a better look at Jane who was now sitting upright. They hadn't come out to their colleagues yet and tried to be careful not to give too much away.

"_Keep Pike away?"_ Maura asked Jane and chuckled. _"Good luck with that."_ Her voice became more serious when she continued_. "He s really not that bad, Jane. And he also needs something to do."_

"_You're just saying that because your anxious that he will start change around stuff at the morgue." _

"_Yes, that too."_ The blonde bluntly admitted_. "You wouldn't like that either, believe me."_ both looked at each other and started to laugh.

"_But as you invited me to come, I will join you."_


	14. Chapter 14

Jane looked herself in the mirror. She hated shopping for clothes but sometimes it just had to be. The suit she was wearing looked good on her and she liked the color, so she decided to take it. After changing back into her own clothes, she went to the lingerie store because she wanted to surprise Maura with some fancy and sexy underwear.

Things were going great between them and she kept moving more and more stuff to the house in beacon hill. Her flat was almost empty by now and she wondered if she shouldn't sell her flat.

"_Uhm, you certainly don't need lingerie to look sexy."_ An unknown voice told her with a cheeky tone. Jane looked up to see a tall blonde woman standing next to her. The brunette had already seen her earlier when shopping for the suit. It hit her that the woman tried to flirt with her. I must give of some vibes she thought, because this didn't happen for the first time. Women in general seemed to be very attracted by her.

"Thank you." She replied and smiled thinking about how to handle that situation. In earlier times she had found it astonishing and funny that women hit on her. But back then, she hadn't really thought about being gay and she hadn't given any further thought. It felt strange now. It felt like belonging to a secret club.

"How about some coffee?" the tall woman asked with a cheeky grin.

Jane didn't even have to think before declining the offer. "That's nice, but I already have a girlfriend." She replied with a smile.

The woman looked disappointed. "Well, no surprise. You're really sexy. I could give you my number though. So, you can call if your girlfriend doesn't pay you the attention you deserve." She told Jane.

Jane started to get unnerved by that woman and told her that she was not interested. Thank god that woman left her alone finally.

Maura listened to her story with some furrowed eyebrows when Jane brought her some coffee to the morgue. "Some women are even worse than guys!" she exclaimed and the blonde looked serious. "Well its in human nature that…" Maura started to say and Jane knew that her girlfriend always did that in order to hide. It hit her that the ME was jealous. And maybe scared too. So, even the doctor couldn't rationalize all her emotions.

The detective went to close the blinds of Mauras office. "What are you doing?" the blonde asked with a puzzled look on her face. Im going to show you, that you have no need to fear, Jane thought as she took Maura and lifted her to the desk. She spread her legs so that she could stand between them. She cupped the blondes head with her hands, looking her into the eyes. Beautiful, deep blue eyes stared back at her revealing all of Mauras insecurity. Jane lowered her head to kiss Maura on her mouth. She shivered when she felt Mauras mouth open slightly, letting the brunette in. Jane made it a long soft kiss, then nibbled a little on the blondes lips, before leaving a trail of kisses towards Mauras neck. She could feel the blonde tremble as she reached her ear.

"We have to stop Jane." Maura whispered after swallowing hard. "We cant do it here."

"schhh.." Jane mumbeled as she slowly opened one button after another of Mauras blouse. When she was done she pulled the blouse aside so that she could see Mauras bra which could barly hide the nipples which were standing up. She moaned in desire as she let her hand touch them. Maura almost whimpering. Jane pulled the bra down as she wanted to see the nipples. She felt the wetness between her legs becoming more with each touch. These nipples begged to be touched and played with Jane thought as she did so.

She felt Maura's body move closer to hers, pressing against her body feeling the urge to lift Mauras skirt. Kneeling down in front of Maura, diving with her tongue into the wetness. Exploring the other women's body. She really started to like oral sex which surprised her. After working her way around with her tongue for a while, Jane spread Maura's legs a little bit more to ease one finger into her.

To be hones it also thrilled her to do it in a public place which he had never done before. But she didn't want to hurry. She wanted to take her time and show Maura how much she loved her. So she caressed the blondes thighs. Kissed them and tasted the soft skin, while her finger pushed and pulled into her girlfriend. After a little while she added one more finger which Maura clearly enjoyed. Jane was mesmerized when she felt the contraction in Maura's womb on her hand, caused by the climax.

She then pulled her trousers down a bit so that her naked midst touched Maura's and they grinded their clits on each other until she also came. Honestly, she felt a little bit dirty if she imagined what it must look from the outside. Her pants hanging by her knees and all. Maura chuckled when she told her so. "Now, who is worse than a man?" she teased Jane, as she tried to rearrange her clothes.

Jane slapped her playfully and laughed. _"you make me feel and do strange things, Dr. Isles."_

"_Uhhh, believe me Jane, I can say the same of you."_ Both blushed a little and then burst out in laughing. "So, you never had sex in a pubic place?" Jane asked, fishing. _"Never."_ Maura said_. "but I have to admit that I kind of like it."_

They were interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. Jane felt like a teenager as she quickly pulled up her trousers and closed the button and the belt. She could only hope that she looked all right, when Maura opened the door to her lab assistant who looked puzzled but didn't dare to ask.

"_So, uhm, thank you Maura for your help!"_ Jane shouted as she was going to the door and caught a helpless look of the blonde as she left the room.

Her phone buzzed announcing a message when Jane sat at her desk later. Thank you for your help?

Jane chuckled. She quickly typed: _yeah, didn't I help you too?_

More chuckles when she imagined the blonde rolling her eyes. She could only imagine the mischievous look which would follow.

The brunette still felt aroused which was a nice feeling, but not if at work, where you couldn't help for the next hours.

Maybe I should pay the doctor another visit she mused. Instead she tried to focus on her paperwork and left work around 4 pm. There was no open case right now, so it was a good opportunity to get rid of some over hours.

She thought about relieving herself when coming home but then decided to wait for her girlfriend.

_Still wet…._ She typed and sent to Maura who replied almost instantly_. Me too, can hardly walk.._

That didn't really help Jane thought. She went to mow the lawn, to distract herself.

Astonished to find another message from Maura on her phone when she came back into the house.

_Want to undress you slowly…._

Jane thought for a moment and wrote back then: _what would you do if I was naked?_

Maura answered with a long text containing lots of Latin words. Jane believed to have a vague idea, what the blonde wanted to say, but was not sure. So, she asked_: in English please?_ With a wink smiley.

_Google it, Jane. It will shorten the time until I'm home._ 😉

The brunette did indeed checkup the words on the internet and wrote the message down word for word and blushed when she read the entire text. Damn it she thought and laughed. The doctor has a very dirty mind. And who would have believed that Latin could be such an interesting language?

Jane started to google the words for her answer and invented some for which she hadn't managed to find the right expression. Chuckling she typed her answer into the phone and hit the send button eagerly waiting for Maura's reply.

The blonde didn't let her wait long. _Uh, oh, really? Can't wait to come home then…_

Jane couldn't wait either. She took a shower and put on her new underwear and laid down on the couch with nothing else. While waiting for her girlfriend to come home she watched a Red sox game on TV. The brunette became a little bit nervous when she finally heard Maura's car pull into the driveway 15 minutes later.

"_I'm home!"_ the blonde shouted and Jane shouted back, that she was in the living room. She heard the blonde get rid of her coat and her shoes and waited for her to appear in the doorway. When she did, Jane said_: "Surprise!"_

Desire was all over Maura's face who glanced at her girlfriends tall and slender body. Her eyes stopping at the panties and the bra. Jane heard her gasp. She had told Maura about being hit on in the store, but not in which, not wanting to spoil the surprise.

"_Now, would you come and do to me what you have described in your message?"_ the brunette said cheekily with a husky voice full of desire too.

Maura started to undress while going over to the couch. After making out Jane took the blonde by the hand and led her to the bedroom.

"_Are you sure you want this?_" Maura whispered while rummaging around in her closet.

"_Hell, yeah." _Jane nodded. This reminded her how new their relationship was. And how they still had to test the grounds.

Maura took small box out of the closet and handed it to Jane like a gift. "I'm a little bit nervous." The blonde admitted with a hesitant smile. _"but I've always wanted to do this."_

The brunette lifted the lid of the box and peered inside. "Nice!" she exclaimed and meant it. The dildo was not penis shaped as she had expected it to be. She found these disgusting. But the one in the box was blue and even. She touched it and finally took it out like a little treasure.

New desire flamed up in Maura's eyes and the box fell off the bed as they continued what they had started earlier. Only much wilder. Jane screamed in delight when Maura used the dildo to please her.


	15. Chapter 15

It took almost seven weeks and two more unexpected visits from Mrs. Woo until Maura and Jane received a letter from the child protective service. Jane felt her heart bumping as she held the thick envelope out to Maura. The blonde seemed to be as nervous as Jane, when she took it.

They decided to open a bottle of wine and read it in the living room when they were comfortable on the couch. Maura carefully opened the envelope while Jane opened the wine and poured it into two glasses. Then the brunette went to fetch a plate of cheese. It had become a ritual of them to spend one evening of the week like that.

"Let's see if we can celebrate." Jane said and put her legs on the coffee table. She glanced at Maura who took out a pile of paper. On top of it was a letter from Mrs. Woo.

The blonde read it aloud:

_Dear Maura and Jane,_

_Words can not express how comfortable I always felt at your home. One can see how much you love and care for each other. This is a home one wishes for a foster child._

_Therefore, I advocate that you foster Gradie with option to adopt her after a six-month probation._

_Please find attached some paperwork. Call me when you are finished filling out the forms so that we can talk about the following steps._

_Best,_

_C. Woo_

Both cheered and toasted to the fact that Gradie would soon be with them. "To the parties, the destroyed furniture and every other bad thing that comes with a teenager!" Jane said cheerfully referring to Mrs. Woo and Maura almost spilled her wine.

They decided to change around one of the guestrooms for the girl. She should be allowed to choose the furniture herself. Jane felt a flutter of excitement in her gut when they wrote Gradie a message.

_Hey there! Child protective service says we can foster you. Are you interested in becoming part of our family and to live with two old crazy women? _

"_I'm neither old nor crazy."_ Maura stated and chuckled.

"_Maur, you're keeping your lunch in the death fridge. That's crazy!_" Jane chuckled and pushed some hair out of the blonde's face. _"And you know more than google."_ Jane laughed. _"And I love you for all the crazy things you do and say!"_

The ME blushed and snuggled into the brunette's arm. Jane pulled her closer and smiled. She whispered, _"I love you Maur."_ Into Maura's ears who smiled too_. "I love you too Jane."_

Filling out the forms became a challenge. Jane scratched her head when she read some of the questions. "they can't be serious." She muttered in disbelief when it came to some questions about her childhood. Maura paused and glanced at the brunette who threw her ballpoint to the table. Letting herself fall into the cushions.

"_Let's have a break_." Maura suggested, feeling a little bit weary herself. After some yoga on Maura's side and some reading on Janes, they finished the paperwork and decided to give Mrs. Woo a call the next day wondering what the next steps were.

_Are you serious?_ Was Gradies reply two hours later.

Just finished filling out the forms. Jane replied. And added:_ So, what's your answer. Maura needs to know if she can make flatbread for celebration._

Maura rolled her eyes and punched her girlfriend playfully.

_Hell, yeah! Tell Maura to cook some fish too. _

Now it was Janes turn to roll her eyes. She still refused to eat fish.

Jane had never told Gradie, that they were trying to foster or adopt her, because they didn't want to raise false hopes. So, the brunette could imagine what a surprise it must be for the girl. She admitteltly felt a little bit overwhelmed herself. Jane was sure about adopting Gradie but it was just a big step to her.

The brunette looked out of the office window. It had started to snow early this morning. Heavy snowflakes fell from the sky and covered the grass with a white coat. She absently chewed on her pencil while trying to decide what to give Maura for Christmas. Usually she had no clue when it came to gifts, but this year she had too many ideas and just couldn't take a decision.

She was thankful for the distraction when her phone rang_. "Rizzoli."_ She picked up.

It was Mrs. Woo who thanked her for the message and asked if Maura and she could swing by at her office later. She quickly texted Maura, and then agreed on an appointment at 3 pm as the blonde said, that she would have time.

So, this was it! She who had always evaded relationships, now had one and was about to foster a child. And she loved it although it sometimes still felt scary and overwhelming.

Jane grabbed her jacket around 2.30pm and met Maura in the hall. They drove to Mrs. Woo discussing what they had to do to empty a room for Gradie.

The meeting had taken a long time. After signing more papers, filling out more forms and a ong talk about what they were aloud to decide and what not both women settled tired into a booth at the dirty robber. Korsak was behind the bar and waved to them joyfully.

"_Long day at work?"_ he asked as he sat down with them.

Jane glanced at Maura who was just beaming. Their eyes locked for a short moment and the brunette nodded as she took a sip from her beer.

"_Nope. But becoming foster parents can also be very exhausting." _Maura said.

"_Uh?"_ Korsak was clearly surprised darting a look at Jane. _"Explain!"_ he exclaimed looking puzzled.

"Maura and I are together since a few months." Jane smiled feeling lighthearted.

"_Yes"_ Maura added. _"And we decided to foster Gradie"._

Korsaks jaw dropped. _"Jane Rizzoli in a relationship? How did you do that Maura?"_

Jane smirked and thought about the faithful night in the cave. She also noted that her former colleague didn't seem to be surprised.

"_Well, I guess we both just realized that what we've always had was a little bit more than friendship."_ Maura stated.

"_Good for you!"_ he said. _"You drove me insane sometimes."_ Korsak said and laughed.

Then he smiled_. "A child can be very challenging, but you will see, its worth it."_ He said.

Korsak invited them to a bottle of Champaign to celebrate. Later the group was joined by Frankie and Angela. When leaving, Angela promised them to come by their house the next day and to help them with Gradies room.


	16. Chapter 16

"_Awesome!"_ Gradie exclaimed when she jumped into Mauras car three days later. Jane looked at Maura who hadn't stopped beaming since they had signed the papers. She knew, that the blonde had always wanted a family. And it also felt like a dream coming true for herself.

"_Just in time for Christmas!"_ the young girl remarked with a wide grin. The brunette chuckled.

"_Yeah. Any special wishes?"_

Gradie tilted her head and Jane could some tears in her eyes. "All my wishes have come true, when you wrote me, that you would foster me."

The brunette reached back with her hand to touch the young girl's knee, almost crying herself.

"_Well, I hope that you're up for some shopping the next days."_ She said after clearing her throat. _"You will need some furniture for your room."_ She explained as Gradie shot her a puzzled look.

"_My room?" _

"_Yes! And as we didn't know what you like, so, we thought you might wanna choose yourself."_

Maura touched Janes thigh softly when she saw the girls light up in the rearview mirror.

"_But I would have been fine with the guestroom."_

"_We Know, honey. But you need your own decoration so that you can feel at home." _Maura said.

They spend the rest of their drive home in silence. Jane glancing at Maura who focused on the street, then glancing at Gradie. It almost felt like her heart would burst of love and pride about her family. She wondered what live would be from now on. They had managed to convince Mrs. Woo to take the girl out of the private school, seeing as how she wasn't happy there. Gradie had mentioned several times that she would love to live at home and go to public school.

Jane and Maura had decided to keep that piece of information to themselves until Gradie had settled at home. The girl was overwhelmed enough right now.

The brunette thought about her own last months. First, it had felt as if her whole world had been shattered in one second. And now she could see how the pieces fell into places to make a life which made her so happy, that no words could describe how.

When Maura pulled into the driveway of their home, Gradie stood hesitantly in the driveway. It was Jane who turned around and asked her why she didn't follow them.

She saw Gradie taking some deep breath and smiled. She was a good girl the brunette thought and picked up the girls' sports bag.

"_Come on!"_ she said. _"Maura can't wait to make flatbread."_ She winked and Gradie chuckled.

"_Jane, stop talking such nonsense."_ Maura smirked and almost convinced the brunette that she was serious, but a chuckle gave the blonde away.

When they opened the front door suddenly all lights went on and the whole family shouted _"Surprise!"_

"_Damn it! You almost gave me a heart attack."_ Jane exclaimed and was mesmerized by the work her people had done during the hour they had been away. There were balloons everywhere and all kinds of decorations. A huge sign was held up by the crowd reading: _"Welcome to your new home Gradie!"_ which made the girl burst out in tears.

Angela stepped forward and gave the young family a hug. _"Congratulations._" She said and whipped away some tears herself.

When it was time for a toast Jane stood up and cleared her throat. _"I'm sure you had a hard time in your life. This should change now. We are very happy that you are part of our family now."_ She looked at all the faces in the room. She registered some nods. _"So, welcome to the Rizzoli Isles family!"_

They all cheered and lifted their glasses to celebrate.

It was far beyond midnight when the last guests had left and the three dropped dead on the couch. Gradie watched in surprise as Jane and Maura put their legs on the coffee table. _"I thought that one shouldn't do that?" _she asked.

"_That's true."_ Maura replied. _"That's what I was taught too. But then I met Jane…."_

Jane almost spilled her beer when she started laughing. _"Have you just said that I'm a bad influence?"_ she asked cheekily.

"_Yes indeed. Good thing that you knew how to behave in front of the social worker_." Maura chuckled. _"But as you said: I love you for all your bad habits."_

"_No, I said I love you for your craziness."_ Jane nudged the blonde who laughed.

"_And I love you both."_ Gradie said as she pulled them closer and chuckled.

Maura

The hug had caught Maura by surprise. She had been on cloud number nine since the letter of Mrs. Woo had arrived. She had always wanted to have a family of her own. And she had honestly given up hope a few years ago. She glanced at Jane who had some chit chat with Gradie about tomorrows plan to buy furniture for her room.

Jane had always had a good hand on kids, Maua thought. And kids loved her. Probably because the brunette had the gift to read people and to know what to do and what to say with them. She was easygoing and openminded.

Maura watched Jane nudge Gradie and they both giggled. The blonde was proud to call the detective her girlfriend and the girl her foster child. She realized how much her life would change with the two of them in the house. She had never had a real family and she was looking forward to the future.

She brushed her thoughts away, as a pillow hit her. In a reflex she took it up and threw it back at both and joined their pillow fight.

Gradie

The young girl watched as Maura and Jane left the guestroom. _"Lights out!"_ Jane said and chuckled. _"who would have thought that I would ever say that?"_ she asked Maura who softly laughed.

Gradie hurried up to wish them a good night. It had been an overwhelming day and she hadn't slept since Janes message three days ago. The girl had been far too excited. And she was still now. She had hoped that she could spend Christmas day with Maura and Jane. But what she got was much better she thought.

She silently pulled up her cover and glanced around the dark room. Unfamiliar shadows moved along the walls from the streetlights and the passing cars. They had shown her the empty room.

"_This is your room."_ Maura had stated. _"you can furnish it the way you want. You just sleep in the other guestroom until its finished."_

How on earth had she got so lucky, Gradie thought. No one adopted a 15-year-old. But these two women were sweet.

She had enjoyed the pillow fight with the detective. She had never felt as home as here, even though this was only the second night in this house. She loved them.

She remembered when she had told them so earlier, on the couch. Both had almost cried. So, this is what it feels like to be wanted she thought and whipped a tear away.

She was not an easy cryer. Even though she had really lived through hell sometimes. It hit her, that she just melted every time because no one had ever been so nice and heartedly like the Rizzoli's and Maura.

Now she was going to spend two weeks of holiday with them and she looked forward to the time they were going to have with each other.


	17. Chapter 17

Jane awoke to some strange noises in the house. She turned to Maura and saw that her girlfriend was still sound asleep. So, she silently got up, put on her pj's and left the room. The brunette almost shrieked when she found Gradie and her mother in the empty guestroom discussing colors.

"_Good morning, sleepy head!"_ her mum exclaimed excited.

"_Ma!"_ Jane exclaimed too_. "What the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night?"_

"_Jane Clementine Rizzoli!"_ Angela started. _"Haven't I taught you to read the time yet? Its already nine o'clock!"_

"_This is in the middle of the night when I'm on holiday!_" Jane complained and rolled her eyes. She glanced at Gradie who was following the conversation. The brunette noticed some amused chuckles from the girl.

This was getting out of hand Jane thought and scratched her head. She couldn't help but feel trapped between the role of being a child and a mother.

She was thankful when Maura appeared in the doorway next to her, wondering what the noise was all about. The blonde looked disheveled and wore some pillow marks on her cheek, which Jane found very sexy.

"_I was up early and thought that I might come by to discuss some colors with Gradie for her new room."_ Angela said offended.

"_It's ok."_ Maura mumbled. _"That's really nice of you."_

"_Good for you, you have such a reasonable girlfriend."_ Angela told Jane and threw her daughter a mischievous look. The brunette rolled her eyes again. She felt like a teenager and sighed.

"_Come on, Jane."_ Maura told her and yawned. _"Let's make some breakfast."_

Jane earned one more mischievous look from her mother and left the room. She loved her mother but sometimes Angela drove her crazy.

"_It's nice of your mother and Gradie loves it."_ Maura noted when they were in the kitchen.

"_I know. She's really sweet."_ Jane muttered. _"It's just that it makes me nervous when she enters our home without warning. What if we were just.."_

Maura rubbed the brunettes back and smiled. _"I know that she can be overwhelming sometimes. But you will see, its going to be fine. I'm going to talk to her about that."_

"_Sometimes?"_ Jane asked with a lifted eyebrow. "_And yes, that would be good. Maybe she will listen to you."_

The blonde chuckled and ordered Jane to stir the pancake dough while she made coffee and tea.

It had been snowing heavily overnight and Jane drove careful on the white streets. She glanced at Gradie through the rear-view mirror and saw her looking out of the window from the back seat. The girl appeared to be mesmerized by the beauty of the weather and the Christmas decoration. Christmas was just a few days away and she hadn't decided on her present for Maura yet. This started to make her a little bit nervous. Jane chewed on her lips when pulling into a parking lot in front of the famous Swedish furniture designer Gradie had wanted to go to.

The brunette felt Maura's hand slide into hers when they walked towards the entrance and smiled. Gradie and Angerla were walking in front of them. Both chatting excitedly. It was the first time that the girl got to choose her own room decoration. _No wonder she's beaming!_ Jane thought as she quickly slipped Maura a kiss before entering the building.

The blonde was beaming too. Although not sure about this place as she had confided into Jane earlier. A huge inflatable Santa greeted them in the hall, along with lots of stars and other decorations. Kids where running all around the place, some chased by mischievous parents and Jane chuckled as she saw a five-year-old trying to climb Santa's shoe.

Jane and Maura enjoyed some alone time while Angela assisted Gradie in finding the furniture she wanted. The brunette found it easier now to display her affection to Maura in public. And she was grateful that her mother was open and didn't mind when they hugged or kissed.

After some shopping, the family decided to try out the Swedish food. Maura was still very skeptical, cutting into one meatball and blushed when the meatball flew off her plate to the neighbors table.

They still made fun of the meatball disaster on the way home. It had happened to Gradie too.

"_One can't take you for lunch in a fancy restaurant."_ Jane chuckled and earned a nudge to her side by Maura for her teasing.

"_iI's not my fault."_ The blonde claimed. _"It was the sauce." _

"_Yeah."_ Jane teased the blonde once more, wiggling her eyebrows.

"_If you don't stop, I will cook fish for dinner tomorrow."_ Maura threatened, nudging Jane again.

"_Uh oh, no, please don't!"_ Jane now pleaded and put un a puppy face.

"_Fish yeah!"_ Gradie stated from the backseat in order to tease Jane who smirked.

The teasing and chatting went on until they pulled into the driveway of their home. Lighthearted the family unloaded the parts of the bed. The rest of the furniture would be delivered tomorrow. Angela left after some Panda Poo tea, as she called the special herbs Maura loved so much. And the three moved to the living room to watch a movie.

Maura snuggled into Janes arms while Gradie laid down. It had stopped snowing around midday and now it was becoming cold outside. Jane glanced at the fire which thankfully started to heat up the room. In her mind she tried to imagine what their life would be on the island now. She shivered for a second, which led Maura pull down the folded blanket for the top of the couch and spread it over them. She was rewarded by a kiss on the forehead from Jane.

Jane awoke when it was already dark outside. She must have fallen asleep during the movie she thought and stretched. When she heard Maura and Gradie rummaging around in the kitchen she got up and found them baking Christmas cookies.

Not for the first time in the day she thought that it was all too good to be true.

"_Oh hi."_ Gradie greeted her with a huge grin on the face. _"Hope we didn't wake you up?"_

Jane, still soar from sleep tilted her head and pushed one finger into the cookie dough Maura was stirring.

"_I'm only checking the quality."_ The brunette stated and put her finger into the mouth. Mhmmm this was delicious. She dipped her finger once more into the bowl. _"So, how much tastings will it take until the quality is approved?"_ Maura giggled.

"_I don't know."_ Jane chuckled_. "Probably several more."_

"_Ahhh."_ Maura stated. _"You realize of course that each tasting will cost you something?"_

Jane looked at Maura's cheeky smile. _"What would that something be?"_

"I will think about it and tell you later." Maura said and Jane immediately knew where this was heading. She liked it.

Her fingers wandered once more into the bowl and she lifted an eyebrow as she put it into her mouth in a gesture which was supposed to turn Maura on. _Strike!_ she thought as she saw the desire flame up in Maura's hazel eyes.

The brunette decided to make herself coffee and settled on one of the chairs at the kitchen island. It didn't take long till a heavenly smell filled the kitchen first, and then the rest of the house. Every time they made a new dough, Jane had to taste now.

"_I'm not quite sure if I can pay the bill."_ The brunette remarked cheekily. _"And honestly I think that you should pay me for the hard work I'm doing here."_

The brunette watched in satisfaction how Maura's desire grew with her decent but obvious gestures. She felt her own body react too.

"_I think I'm going to take a shower."_ Jane stated. _"A cold one?"_ Maura whispered to her ear when they kissed and hugged, so that Gradie couldn't hear it. Jane rolled her eyes and Maura smiled knowingly.

"Maybe Maura needs a shower too." Gradie said with a smirk. This remark made both women blush.

"_I'm going to go to my room and read a little bit."_ The girl said and winked at them. _"Have fun!"_ she added with an innocent tone and waved as she left the kitchen.

"_Omg"_ Jane muttered and leaned into Maura who put her arms around the brunette. _"Should we be embarrassed?"_ she asked into the blonde's neck. Maura tilted her head. _"I don't think so."_ She said calmly and took Jane by the hand to lead her into the bathroom.

Jane felt Maura's mouth covering her neck. The blonde's breath made her shiver in delight. She pulled her head up, so that Maura had easier access to her entire neck. There was a flutter in her gut, when her girlfriends mouth reached her ears and nibbled on them. And a soft moan escaped her, when hands cupped her breasts weighing them softly. The brunette pulled Maura closer so that their bodies touched. They started kissing and their hands were all over the other while their tongues were mating.

Jane felt very hot and aroused already and started to undress her girlfriend. "You are damn sexy!" Jane whispered to the blondes' ear and took her into the shower where their bodies melted into one under the warm water. More kissing and more touching followed. Jane loved it when they were skin on skin in the water jet. Still, she pushed Maura against the wall, a little bit away from herself, hands lifted above their heads. Her fingers entwined with the blonde ones as their erected nipples touched. Jane couldn't help but moan at the sight. She shoved one leg between Maura's and felt her girlfriends hot and wet midst on her thigh. At the same time Jane had to gasp for air, as she felt Maura's hand on her clit. She hadn't seen that coming and waves of electroshocks' floated through her womb. She locked eyes with Maura who was also highly aroused now.

Jane started to move her thigh against the blonde pelvis and felt fingers slipping into her, sending more sensations into her belly. She pushed her hands against the wall so that she could move better. Trying to hold up the eye contact with the blonde. She kept rubbing her leg against her girlfriend until they both came.

"_Uh oh, I like to shower with you."_ Jane muttered under her ragged breath.

"_Same here."_ Maura replied also gasping for air.

"_We could uh continue in bed?_" the brunette suggested.

"_Hehe, sounds like a good plan. But only if you take me to bed like you did the last time._" Maura smirked and already swung her legs around Janes waist. The brunette giggled. _"Ok, whatever milady wants." _

Maura slapped her lightly and chuckled. Jane carried the blonde to the bed, stopping on the way to pick up the dildo. _"What a good idea!"_ Maura noted and her voice was deep and husky in desire.


	18. Chapter 18

„_Oh no!"_ Jane exclaimed when her phone rang. Maura's mobile started to ring almost at the same time. They knew that this was not a good sign. Both were on call this day. Gradie who had no idea what was going on had a puzzled expression on her freckled face.

Jane accepted the call and absently put a curl which had fallen into her face, behind her ear. She listened, then nodded and said, _"I'm on my way."_ She glanced at Maura who seemed to be as disappointed as she was.

"_Somebody has found a body when walking his dog."_ The brunette explained to Gradie who was sipping her tea. She seemed to be relaxed. _"This means you have to work, right?"_ the girl asked.

"_I'm afraid so, honey."_ Jane replied.

"_Its ok. Don't worry about me. Angela will come by later and show me how to paint a room. And I have tons of books I want to read."_ Gradie said with a smile. _"I will be fine."_ She added when seeing Janes furrowed eyebrows.

The brunette nodded and gave the girl a kiss on the forehead.

"_Are we driving together, or shall I take my car?"_ Maura asked when they were changing into their work clothes.

"_I think that one car will be fine."_ Jane replied while putting on her jacket. Maura nodded _"I think so too." _

They left the house after saying goodbye to Gradie. The brunette couldn't help but feel guilty and worried about the girl. Of course, the girl would be fine. But sill…

When they returned from work around 8 pm, a smell of lasagna filled their home and Angela was sitting on the couch with Gradie, showing her pictures of Jane as a child. _"Jane was always braver than the boys." _The brunette heard her mother say and chuckle. Gradie nodded. _"I'm not surprised. She is very strong."_

"_And she's home."_ The brunette noted and gave a kiss to her mother and to Gradie. Maura followed her example and then dropped on the couch.

"_Are you hungry?"_ Angela asked.

"_Oh yes!"_ Maura replied and her stomach rumbled.

"_I taught Gradie how to make lasagna."_ She smiled. _"At least someone wants to learn cooking from me." _Janes mother added and smirked.

"_Thank god!"_ Jane exclaimed. _"She's probably more talented than I am."_ The brunette shouted towards the kitchen and winked at the girl on the couch. _"Have you chosen a color for your room?"_ Maura asked.

Gradie nodded. _"Wanna see?"_

"_Ok."_ Maura replied and lifted from the couch.

Both women followed the girl into her room. Jane had to steady herself at the doorframe, while Maura gasped for air. The wall across the spot where the bed was supposed to be, was completely black. The other three walls were painted in lilac. _"Isn't that great?"_ Gradie beamed and hopped around.

"_Ah, yes."_ Maura replied. _"Its very… uhhhm…"_ the blonde struggled for words.

"_special."_ Jane completed the sentence, not daring to take her hand of the doorframe.

Gradie feigned ignorance to their reaction. _"See, this is a special kind of painting. When the light is out, it looks like a sky full of stars. So, I can see the stars from my bed. Isn't that wonderful?"_

"_Wow that's cool!"_ Jane noted and wished she could see it now. But it wasn't dark enough yet.

"_Its perfect! I love to see the stars."_ The girl replied.

Angela's face hovered between fear and pride when they entered the kitchen. She served the lasagna, and everybody started to eat. Jane felt caught in her emotions. On one side she thought that the black wall was too much and too depressing. On the other side the idea with the stars sounded nice. Was she now mad at her mother? Probably not. Her ma cared about her family and she was thankful that she accepted and supported Gradie as if she was her own child. This was what the girl needed. And to see the freckled face so happy, filled Janes heart with joy. But a black wall? She finally decided to leave her mother alone.

"_Thank you for helping."_ She said instead and caught a puzzled look on her mother's face.

"_You're welcome!"_ Angela finally said. _"I hope that the colors are ok for you."_ The brunette sensed guilt. _"We told Gradie that she could decorate her room as she wished. So, its fine. Don't worry."_ Her mother sighed in relieve and Jane smiled.

"_So, who is in the mood to set up some furniture?"_ Maura asked after putting away the dirty dishes.

"_Jane?"_ the blonde shot her a look. The brunette didn't feel like putting up furniture tonight. But she decided to do it for the girl. Once more she thought about clichés. I'm the fisher, the lawn mower and the handywoman. I'm the man in this relationship. She chuckled. But honestly, she preferred these duties over cooking and housework. Jane passed the fridge and grabbed a beer before starting her work.

"_Are you sure that you don't need any help?"_ Maura popped her head into the room which still smelt like wet paint.

"_Naw, I can do it."_ The brunette replied and looked confused at the construction instruction.

"_I'm just asking because you have been sitting there for thirty minutes and you haven't even touched one part yet."_ Maura stated skeptical.

"_Well you seem to insist in helping."_ Jane noted _"so you can read the plan and tell me what to do."_

Maura chuckled and sat down next to Jane, giving her a kiss. _"All right, this is uhhhm, wait, I need to orientate a little."_ Jane laughed as Maura kept turning the plan around, looking every bit confused as she was.

"_So, Dr. Isles?"_ Jane couldn't resist teasing Maura.

"_Just a second, it can't be that hard right?" _

Both bend over the plan and tried to solve the problem together.

"_Maybe it goes like this?"_ Gradie asked and pointed to some assembled parts.

"_That looks good."_ Jane replied and crawled over to the girl and helped her with some other parts. At the end the bed stood at the right place in no time. Once they had found out how it worked, it was easy to assemble the rest of the furniture.

They sat down on the bed and watched the black wall. The lights went out as Gradie pushed a button on a remote and suddenly a million stars appeared on the wall across from them.

"_This is beautiful!"_ Maura exclaimed fascinated. And a proud Gradie moved into their arms for a hug. _"Told you so!"_ she mumbled, and they laughed. _"Yes, you did, honey."_ The blonde muttered under her breath.

Jane sighed. Two more days till Christmas and she had a case to solve. Her motivation was very low. She would have preferred staying at home and spending the time with Maura and Gradie.


	19. Chapter 19

„_I have it!"_ Jane said and got up to open the door. They had made themselves comfortable in the living room, watching a movie when the doorbell rang.

"_I wonder who this is?"_ Maura said and glanced at the brunette.

"_Not ma"_ Jane stated dryly _"She usually lets herself in with the key."_

Maura chuckled. _"That's true."_

Jane opened the door and almost gasped, when she saw Constance standing on the porch. Maura's adoptive mother looked a little disheveled, which was very unusual. _"Hello Constance."_ She greeted the elder woman and opened the door further so that she could come into the house.

"_Hello Jane."_ Constance greeted the brunette and hung her coat neatly on the wardrobe. Jane noticed that the woman glanced up and down her body and it hit her, that she was dressed in her PJ's, which was normal as it was already ten pm. But Constance didn't know about their relationship yet and that they were living together. Nor that they were fostering a child. The brunette cursed herself for not pushing Maura into telling her parents. The last time she had cut the topic, the blonde had accused her of pressuring her. Maura had stated that she would tell them when the time was right. Jane had wanted to say that there was probably never a right time. But as the blonde had already been close to furious with Jane, the brunette had decided to drop the theme.

"_Is Maura here?"_ Constance asked, obviously irritated.

"_Maura?"_ she shouted towards the living room.

"_What is it?"_ the blonde asked.

"_Constance is here."_ Jane replied and tried to smile at the adoptive mother, turning back towards her.

"_Mother?"_ Maura asked when appearing in the room. _"I didn't expect your arrival until next week."_

Jane glanced at her girlfriend. The blonde hadn't told her that Constance was coming at all.

She saw Maura shooting her a scared look. _"Let's go to the kitchen and have some tea."_ She mumbled and took Constance by the arm while Jane returned to a puzzled Gradie in the living room. The brunette put her legs on the table and scratched her head, wondering what to do.

"_Who is it?"_ Gradie asked. Jane thought that the girl must wonder, why she wasn't presented to the nightly intruder.

"_It's Maura's adoptive mum."_ The brunette explained. The girls jaw dropped.

"_Maura is adopted? Why hasn't she told me?" _

"_It's a long story."_ Jane sighed and turned off the TV. She glanced at Gradie who had a thoughtful expression on her face. Muttering sounds floated from the kitchen to them. It was hard to understand what was being said and Jane wondered…

The brunette filled Gradie in on Maura's childhood and that her father had been a gangster boss. The girl pursued her words in disbelief. _"I bet Mrs. Woo doesn't know that, right? Otherwise she would have never allowed you to foster me."_

Jane chuckled becoming serious again as a depressed looking Maura entered the living room. _"Mother is in the guest house now. She wants to divorce from my father and fantasizes about spending Christmas with me."_

The brunette couldn't help but find it ironic. The woman loved Maura, sure, but on the other hand she hadn't spent many Christmases with her daughter. And suddenly….

"_Do we have a problem?"_ Jane asked quietly and hugged the blonde.

"_I haven't told her about us or Gradie, if that's what you mean."_ The blonde replied in a stressed tone and lifted her hand. "_I know, you told me all along to come out. But I'm sure that she is going to have a problem with it. She kept asking me if I was not too old for having a sleepover."_

"_What did you say?"_ Jane asked and saw Maura blush.

"_Nothing, you know that I can't lie." _

"_Shit!"_ Jane said. _"I could move with Gradie to my apartment if that's what you want or need."_ She offered. The girl watched them in silence, obviously not knowing what to say or do. The brunette had looked forward to their first Christmas as a couple. But now it seemed to be threatened and she couldn't help but feeling disappointed. On the other hand, she loved Maura. And she wanted to support her.

"_I told mother that I already had plans for Christmas."_ Maura stated. _"But I can't leave her alone. And I don't want to spend Christmas without you two."_

"_Hell, what a shitty situation!"_ Gradie exclaimed.

"_You definitely spend too much time with Jane." _The blonde said and couldn't help but chuckle. _"You already swear like her!"_

"_It's therapeutic."_ The girl replied and chuckled too. _"I just can't help!"_

"_Yeah, right. So, you don't think that your mother knows? Or do you think, that she seriously believes that we are having a sleepover, Maur?"_

The blonde woman shook her head. "_Honestly I can't tell you she thinks. She's very good at not seeing what she doesn't want to see."_

"_As an artist she must know dozens of gay people."_ The brunette pointed out.

"_Yes, but gay people are fine as long as they are not in her family."_ Maura replied and cringed.

"_So, do you want us to vanish until your mother leaves?"_ janes voice sounded more unnerved than intended and she immediately felt sorry. Moreover, she knew, that it would only cause more damage than help. But she refused to apologize.

Silence filled the room and weighted heavy on their souls. _"I wanted to tell her next week."_ Maura said, on the verge of tears_. "Please, Jane."_ The blonde whispered.

Jane sighed getting the situation Maura was in. The blonde feared the rejection of her family. _"All right, we are going to move to my apartment and see how it goes. I'm sure that ma, doesn't mind if you bring Constance to our Christmas dinner. So, we get to spend Christmas together. I'm going to tell ma, not to say a word about our relationship. We move back into the house when Constance leaves."_

She glanced at Maura who looked very unhappy and pulled the blonde into a hug, softly kissing her on the cheek.

Jane got up early the next day. She wanted to finish some more work before the family dinner. Gradie had asked if she could come with her. First, the brunette had hesitated, but finally had given in and agreed. She glanced at the girl who now sat at Frosts former desk across from her. The freckled face glanced around with shiny eyes. To Gradie it was very exciting to see were Jane worked.

The brunette looked at the small frame on her own desk, containing a picture of her little family. The girl was standing in between Maura and her and they all had a wide grin on the face. Happy times she thought and scratched her head before focusing on a file in front of her.

Gradie had brought her notebook and started working on a text for a competition in January. Both looked at each other from time to time but worked in silence.

Frankie entered the squad room around 8am. _"Oh hey!"_ he said and gave both a kiss on the cheek.

"_Since when are you an early riser?"_ he teased Jane who snorted.

"_Since Constance appeared on our doorstep yesterday evening."_

"_Holy shit!"_ her brother exclaimed. _"Did you know that she was coming?"_

"_Nope, she has spontaneously decided to spend Christmas with Maura after divorcing from her husband."_

Frankie shot Jane a compassionate look. He knew that the blonde hadn't come out to her family yet. Neither to Constance nor to Hope and that this complicated the whole situation. The door opened when he was about to say something, and they watched Maura walk into the room.

"_Hey Maura."_ Frankie greeted her friendly also giving her a kiss on the cheek. _"Another early riser… we are all going to fall asleep at tonight's Christmas dinner."_ He mused.

"_Jane, can we talk?"_ the blonde asked after greeting Frankie. The brunette took a minute or two, before nodding. She threw her pen on the desk and grabbed her jacket before quietly following her girlfriend to the morgue.

Maura kept rubbing her palms against her skirt as she faced Jane who had crossed her arms in front of her chest. The brunette waited for Maura to start.

"_You are mad at me."_ Maura stated. _"I get that. I should have talked to Constance about us. The fact that I didn't has nothing to do with you. I want you to know that. I love you, Jane. And I want to be with you more than anything in the world, believe me."_ pleading hazel eyes locked with Janes.

"_Maur"_ Jane started hesitantly_. "I love you too. And I know that this has nothing to do with me. It's just that I was looking forward to our first Christmas as a couple. Is this selfish?"_

"_No."_ Maura looked down. "_And I'm sorry. I guess you're right, there is no right moment to tell her."_

Jane reached for her phone on the belt as it buzzed for the fourth time in a row. She was reluctant to interrupt their conversation. But whatever was going on had to be important. She rolled her eyes as she read Frankie's message. _Constance is here to see Maura_.

"_Your mother is here to see you."_ She stated and snorted. For years Constance had squeezed Maura in between business meetings. Now that she was getting a divorce, the older woman suddenly showed intense interest. Jane knew, that Maura was happy about that, because this was the attention the blonde had been craving for her entire childhood.

"_I have to work anyway."_ The brunette abruptly stated and left the morgue. When she entered the squad room, Constance barley greeted her. She probably thinks that I'm a bad influence on her daughter she thought as she sat down on her chair.

She glanced at Gradie who scribbled words into her notebook, but she could see that the girl was confused and sad just like her. _"Janie, you can go. I have it." _Frankie said to her sensing how tense she was. The brunette knew that there was not much she could do right now. Most of the people from the lab had gone home anyway.

Jane nodded and fetched her key and her jacket while Gradie packed up her stuff. The brunette decided to have some coffee first before driving to her mother. Besides she needed to shower and dress up first. She made hot chocolate with marsh mellows for Gradie and some coffee for herself.

"_I'm sorry, Gradie. This is not what I had imagined for our first Christmas." _

The girl nodded. _"Its ok. I assume you still have to work out some stuff. I just hope that you don't break up though."_ The girl said.

Jane mulled over her words and nodded They had to work out stuff for sure.

_I tell ma that we are still in the closet for your mother._ The brunette messaged Maura and hopped into the shower after finishing her coffee.

She read the blondes answer afterwards. Thank you, Jane.

The brunette packed a duffle bag and asked Gradie to do the same. They threw their stuff into the trunk and drove off to Angela who was already in the kitchen, preparing the dinner. "_How can we help?_" Jane asked, and her mother sent Gradie into the dining room to set the table. _"Not you! I need you to help me here."_ She told her daughter who wanted to help the girl.

"_So, tell me what's going on!"_ Angela asked Jane after making sure, that Gradie couldn't hear them.

"_Constance is going to join us tonight. I hope you don't mind."_ Jane said while stirring a sauce.

Her mother looked surprised. _"Of course, I don't mind. Does she know…?"_

"_No, I guess Maura is afraid to lose her. You should have seen how Constance looked at me. As if I was the devil! I think she knows…"_

Angela nodded. _"its not easy for a mother you know."_

Jane gave her mother a hug. _"Thank you for being so cool ma."_ The brunette said following an impulse.

Angela nodded. _"its going to be fine. You will see. Just give it a little bit of time."_

"_Yeah, but it hurts. We have been her family. Always. Now her mother divorces and replaces her husband with her daughter because she doesn't want to be alone. That's not fair!"_

"_You are not going to lose Maura."_ Angela stated while she verified the turkey in the oven.

"_Besides I thought that Maura had a much better relationship to her mother now?"_

"_Yeah, so, now she tries not to lose her and refuses to tell her about us."_ Jane ranted and cut herself a piece of bread. _"I offered Maura to live in my flat with Gradie until her mother leaves."_

"_What did she say?"_ Angela asked.

"_Nothing."_ Jane shrugged. _"Constance suddenly wants to spend all time together with Maura. She came with three suitcases! I'm afraid that she will stay longer. Don't get me wrong. Im really happy for Maur. But what am I supposed to do? I kind of just moved to Maura's. Do I have to move back now, if she stays one or two weeks?"_

"_I bet Maura is pretty stressed too, about this whole situation. Don't you think that she will come out to her mother, if she really stays that long?"_ Angela mused.

"_I'm not sure. She seems to be determined to wait for the right moment."_

Angela rolled her eyes and snorted. _"I'm sorry, Janie."_ She said. _"It must hurt."_

Jane nodded blinking back some tears. _"Thank you, ma."_ The brunette said and let her mother pull her into another hug.

Jane opened the door to Maura and her mother. _"Hello Jane."_ The blonde said in a formal tone. She asked herself what would come next. A handshake? _"Hey Maura."_ She replied and then greeted Constance who completely ignored her.

"_So, come in!"_ Jane said. Feeling more betrayed seeing as Maura tolerated her mother's behavior towards her.

"_Thank you for inviting me to your dinner Angela."_ The brunette heard Constance's purr in the kitchen and rolled her eyes. Maura stood hesitantly in the middle of the room. Jane could see, that she wanted to say something, but passed her and went into the living room, where Frankie and Nina were drinking eggnog and singing Christmas carols with Tommy, his son and Gradie.

The brunette sat down on the couch next to Gradie, so that they could look together at the sheet containing the lyrics of the songs.

"_That's not fair." _Maura whispered once they were alone in a room. "_You punish me for something I'm not guilty of."_

"_Really Maur? Have you seen how your mother treats me? And you just let it happen."_

"_You're just jealous."_ Maura snorted. _"You don't own me."_

Jane was furious. What the hell was going on with her girlfriend? Was Maura serious?

"_Good, why are you here then? Why didn't you celebrate Christmas with your mother at your home? That would have been a possibility for you to escape my possessiveness."_

A loud gasp interrupted their fight. Both turned to see Gradie in the room. _"Would you please stop fighting?" _the girl asked. _"You love each other for heaven's sake! Stop being so mean and get your senses together! You are both losing your mind right now. Maura, can't you see that your mother's sudden appearance scares the shit out of Jane? And Jane can't you see that Maura has a hard time telling her mother because Constance is not as grounded as Angela?"_

Jane tried to breathe. Maura's words had hurt her. She had trusted her, had started a relationship with her because she had thought that she was different. Gradie had her point. Sure. But she was just overwhelmed and left the room without a word. She grabbed the keys to her car and left the house in such a hurry that she didn't even put on her jacket.

Only when sitting in her car, she allowed the tears to roll down her cheeks. When in her flat she glided down to the floor at her door and cried. She ignored her phone which was constantly ringing in her pocket.

There was a knock on the door after a while. Maybe Frankie?

"_Jane?"_ Maura's voice floated to her. The brunette sighed and opened the door. Maura's eyes were also red and puffy from crying. Jane opened the door a little wider without a word and then went to sit on the couch.

She glanced at her girlfriend who paced across the room.

"_Would you please stop walking around?"_ Jane asked rubbing her head.

Maura froze.

"_Look!"_ Jane said. _"Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea. I'm not relationship material."_

She felt Maura's look resting on her. _"How can you say that?"_ the blonde asked, sounding as weary as Jane was.

The brunette just shrugged. _"Isn't that obvious?"_

"_Jane, Gradie was right. We have both lost control over the situation."_

"_She's a pretty clever girl."_ Jane stated.

"_That's true."_

"_I think that you are great relationship material!"_ Maura spoke into the silence.

Jane snorted.

The blonde came over and took Janes hand as she sat down next to her. _"I apologize for being so blind. I guess I got carried away, flattered by my mother's attention. And you are right. I wasn't loyal. I shouldn't have let her treat you like that. Nor should I have let her believe, that she can appear and expect me to drop everything and serve her."_

Jane sighed. _"I'm sorry too Maur. I said some very mean things. And I know that its not easy with Constance."_

"_I should have listened to you. I should have seen that you are acting like you did because you were scared."_ Maura said.

"_So, are we good?"_ the blonde dared to ask after a while.

Jane nodded. She pulled Maura closer to kiss her. Then they hugged for a long time.

"_What time is it?"_ Jane asked suddenly.

"_Its 5:30 pm."_ The blonde replied _"why?"_

The brunette started to kiss Maura and pulled her down so that they almost lay on top of each other. Her hands cupping the blonde's breasts, squeezing them lightly. "_That's why."_ Jane murmured, her voice husky with desire. _"Uhhh…"_ Maura replied and opened the top button of the brunette's blouse.

Jane got dressed while her girlfriend was still in the shower. Afterwards she sat down on the bed, waiting for Maura to come out.

"_What's that?"_ the blond asked when seeing the small present Jane held in her hand.

"_It's your Christmas present."_ The brunette answered and blushed.

"_Oh Janie."_ Maura whispered. _"What is it?"_

"_Open it and find out yourself."_ Jane teased.

Maura gave the brunette a kiss as she took the gift out of Janes hand. _"Thank you."_ She whispered.

"_You don't know what's inside. So, better thank me later if you like it."_ Jane smirked slightly, feeling nervous.

Maura carefully opened the wrapping paper. Then she lifted the lid of the box and peeked inside. _"They are just beautiful."_ She shouted when she saw the earrings. Jane watched as the blonde hopped of the bed to wear them.

"_Do I smell make-up sex?"_ Frankie teased his sister while they put the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. He made some weird sniffing sounds and Jane slapped him slightly with a dishtowel.

"_Maybe."_ Jane replied laughing.

He also slapped her playfully and then hugged her. _"I'm glad for you Janie."_ He said as their mother came into the kitchen to prepare the dessert. Frankie teased Jane by making the sniffing noise again.

"_Frankie, stop playing the fool and bring this to the table."_ Angela said as she put a wine bottle into Frankie's hand. The matriarch waited until he had left the kitchen and then turned to Jane.

"_So, is everything ok with Maura and you now?_" she asked.

Jane smiled and nodded.

"_Good. I must admit that I was a little bit worried."_ Angela said and hugged Jane.

Jane stayed a little longer in the kitchen after her mother had left, breathing and thinking. The dinner had gone well, and it had been as delicious as always. The brunette snorted as she remembered how Constance had tried to keep Maura to herself, but the blonde hadn't let her.

The brunette shrieked when the kitchen door suddenly swung open. _"This is the most unloving Christmas ever!"_ Angela pouted_. "Can you believe it_? Constance just tried to convince Maura to go home feigning that she's tired."

"_I'm sorry, ma."_ Jane said and felt guilty.

"_Janie, don't apologize. Its not your fault. It's this woman!_ _She must have lost her mind."_

Mother and daughter went into the dining room when they heard voices getting louder.

Maura had jumped off her chair and looked angry_. "Mother! It's time that you realize, that I'm not a toy. And that it's not my duty to please and serve you! Moreover, stop talking bad about this family. These are the nicest people I ever met in my live. They make me feel sheltered and loved. More loved than I've ever felt in my entire life. Truth is, I will never be enough for you. If you're not happy here, then leave. But I'm not going to come with you. THIS is my family. And this" now she pointed with her finger to Jane who slightly shivered, "this is my girlfriend. And I love her because she's the most brilliant and beautiful woman on earth. And you know the best thing about her? She has a heart of gold!"_

Constance swallowed hard. _"Maura, you must be out of your mind. I don't know what drug you are taking. But I'm going to leave now. May god help you."_ With that the older woman left the house without saying goodbye or even any other word.

"_Wow!"_ Jane heard Angela mumble behind her back. _"Don't make this tiger angry. But aaawwwww what a sweet declaration of love!"_

"_Initially I thought about asking her to marry me."_ Jane absently said cringing as she realized that she had spoken her thoughts out loud. But fortunately, only her mother had heared it. The brunette felt her mother's hands on her shoulders. _"I'm proud of you Janie."_

Jane covered one of her mother's hands with her own. _"Thank you."_


	20. Chapter 20

The evening had taken a more relaxed turn when Constance had left. Maura appeared to be lighthearted after speaking the truth to her mother. But Jane was sure, that the crash would come. After a lot of food and Christmas carols the Rizzoli-Isles family had driven home through a winter wonder land. Snowflakes were still dancing in front of the windows as Jane undressed and slipped in between the sheets waiting for the blonde who was still in the bathroom.

The brunette closed her eyes and listened to the noises in the house. Music emerged from Gradies room down the hall. Water was being turned on and off in the bathroom. The blonde would doubtlessly be for some more time. She always took her time when getting ready for bed.

"_Close your eyes."_ she said when Maura had found her way into the sheets.

"_Why?"_ the blonde asked curiously.

"_Because I have another present for you." _Jane smiled.

"_Uh?"_ the blonde noted while doing as her girlfriend wished.

"_What is it?"_ Maura asked in excitement. In contrast to the brunette, she loved surprises.

Jane opened the box and looked at the two rings. She hoped that Maura would like them. They were very simple, no stones, just their names engraved on the inner side. It had taken her forever to find these and she was very proud.

"_Now you can look."_ The brunette said clearing her throat.

Maura gasped when she saw what Jane was holding in her hand.

"_Maura Isles."_ She paused and looked into the hazel eyes of her partner which were beaming. _"We have sailed some stormy seas as you know."_ The blonde chuckled at Janes choice of words and nodded, saying _"That's true."_

"_I could never have wished for a better partner on my side. You make me happy every day of my life. I don't only love you for who you are, but also for who I am around you. So, if you feel the same marry me."_

"_Oh Janie!"_ Maura whispered and threw her arms around the brunette.

Jane cleared her throat again. _"So, is this a yes?"_ she mumbled into Maura's blonde hair.

"_Yes! I love you, and I want to marry you to spend the rest of my life with you."_

Jane sighed. She hadn't realized that she had held her breath until that very moment.

The brunettes hand shook a little when she took one of the rings and put it on Maura's finger. _"Looks nice."_ She said. _"I hope it's not too simple, but I don't like big stones."_

Maura glanced at the ring, a mesmerized expression on her face. _"Its perfect, Janie."_

The brunette blushed. _"Thank you._"

"_Do you know how hard it is these days to find a fancy ring without a rock on it?"_ the brunette chuckled. Maura who had also spend some time looking for rings, nodded.

The blonde took the other ring and put it on Janes finger. They hugged and kissed.

Then Maura turned to the drawer of her nightstand. _"You are going to like this, even if it's a surprise."_ The blonde laughed a little and took out a small box. Jane was speechless, when she saw to almost similar rings emerge, as Maura opened the lid. The blonde smiled. _"I was never into rocks too, to be honest."_

"_You wanted to propose too?"_ Jane asked amazed.

"_Yes. I've been carrying these around for weeks. Hoping you won't find them."_ Maura chuckled.

"_That's really uh… cheesy."_ Jane laughed.

"_Yes, kind of."_ The blonde giggled.

Jane took Maura's hand and let her thumb glide over the ring. She couldn't believe that she had really done it. Softly she led it to her mouth and kissed the back of the blonde's hand.

"_Remember when we talked about our dream weddings?"_ Maura asked after settling back to her cushion.

"_Yeah. As far as I recall, our imagination about that topic, was slightly different."_

"_Slightly?"_ the blonde glanced at the brunette and chuckled. _"Planning our wedding is going to be very interesting I'd say.." _

"_You might be right. But I'm sure ma will help us for sure."_ Jane stated into the dark room, giggling.

"_We will see."_ Maura replied and yawned. _"Thank god, we can sleep in tomorrow."_ She added.

Jane sighed and nodded, playing with the ring on her finger. It filled her with excitement, and it felt strange – all at the same time. She usually hated wearing jewelry. But she loved wearing the ring because she loved Maura. And this ring made her feel closer to the women who appeared to be mesmerized too. The brunette remembered one of the blonde's monologues about the power of symbols. Well, now she knew what Maura had been talking about. Jane silently chuckled to herself.

Her mind wandered to some more dark places then. Maura had yet to tell Hope. How would she take the news of the blonde having a girlfriend and a child? Hopefully better than Constance, she thought. She really didn't get the reaction of Constance. How could she as a mother not be happy that Maura had found a partner. Did the gender really play such a big role? The brunette had never thought and experienced homophobia before. It wasn't as if they were living in the middle ages anymore for heaven's sake.

Although, it dawned on her, that all the Christopher street days and gay prides were more than necessary to raise awareness to this topic. It hit her, that she had never realized the importance of them. Maybe she and Maura should participate in the next one. Gradie would be in for sure. That would be a nice family activity. More giggling when she imagined Maura marching through the streets, holding up a sign which said: Gay is okay.


	21. Chapter 21

The expected crash came after the Christmas holidays. Jane found Maura sitting on the couch staring at the TV where a game show was running when coming home from work. Normally the blonde didn't watch game shows. No wonder, the brunette thought, she knows all the answers, and if candidates say something wrong, she got annoyed.

Jane gave Maura a kiss. The blonde had been so deep in thought that she hadn't heard her girlfriend returning from work.

"_Hey there."_ She said. After not getting a real reply, she went into the kitchen, where Gradie was sitting and doing some homework. She sat down next to her and glanced at the math book.

"_Uhhh, always hated math's."_ Jane said and Gradie chuckled.

"_Actually, I like it."_ The girl replied.

"Yeah, because you are a science geek like Maura." The brunette stated and rolled her eyes while chuckling. She decided to leave Gradie to her homework and opened a beer, thinking about what to cook. Pantries were opened and closed. Jane rummaged around the fridge in order to check for ingredients. Maybe pizza? She thought after a while.

"I think Maura got a call from Constance earlier." Gradie interrupted the brunettes search.

"_it wasn't my intention to spy, but It was hard to overhear some pieces of the conversation_." The girl continued and put her pencil into the mouth. The 15-year-old had a thoughtful look on her face.

"_That's not good."_ The brunette spoke her thoughts aloud. She decided for pizza and called their favorite pizza place to order some. Then she went back to the living room to find Maura in the same spot with the same stare. The only thing that had changed was the TV program. Instead of the game show, it was now playing an old sitcom.

Jane handed Maura a glass of wine and sat down next to her. "Are you ok?" she asked and rubbed the blonde's thigh. Maura shot her a brief look and turned away quickly. When Jane wanted to pull her into a hug, she refused and leaned the other way.

"_I ordered pizza."_ Jane said and acted as if the scene hadn't happened. The brunette knew, that it was better to leave the blonde alone and not to pressure her. Maura would open, when she felt ready to. But Jane hated it when her loved ones were hurt.

She watched Maura nod slightly and take a sip from the wine. When she looked up, she saw Gradie standing in the door. _"I'm done with my homework."_ The girl said throwing a concerned look towards Maura. Jane nodded and patted to the couch_. "Wanna join us? Pizza will be here any moment."_

They munched on their food and watched an old but funny movie while eating. Gradie left in the middle of it, when she received the call from a friend. Jane felt happy that the girl had adjusted so well to the public school. Her grades were great, and she seemed to be relieved to be out of the private school.

"_I hate it when you're hurt."_ Jane said turning to Maura. The blonde answered quickly – too quickly: _"Who says that I'm hurt? Maybe I'm just tired!"_ her voice sounded rough and harsh. Jane felt anger creeping up her spine. What was the problem of Constance? Why couldn't she see how much Maura wanted her love and attention. The woman seemed to only think about herself.

"_I'm off to bed."_ Jane said when the movie was over and reminded herself to be patient with the blonde. But she hoped that Maura would follow her.

"_There is a documentary I want to watch. Go ahead, I will join you later."_ The blonde replied.

Jane wondered if she should talk to Constance when lying in her sheets and stared at the ceiling. Maybe she could talk some sense into this woman. But what could she do to help Maura?

"_Nothing." _Angela said when Jane sat at the bar of the dirty robber the next day_. "You can only be there for her and listen."_

Maura had feigned to be very busy, so Jane had decided to go for lunch alone. She had no case now, so there was plenty of time to go to the blonde's favorite bookstore afterwards. She couldn't decide what to take for her girlfriend. Therefore, she took a book for herself. The cover read: 100 fun facts and curiosities you didn't know. Maybe she could distract Maura with some of them.

Jane left the office around 3 pm, as she had finished with her paperwork. Gradie was in her room with a friend and the brunette could hear them giggle a lot. She herself settled on the couch with her new purchase and read the table of contents. The brunette flipped to a chapter which promised to be fun and started to read with her coffee mug in one hand.

The first fun fact was about a light bulb from 1901 which still functioned. Interesting she thought. After reading one hour her head was full of funny stories and she was glad to have bought the book because it was really entertaining.

Gradie appeared in the kitchen after her friend had left.

"_What are you doing?"_ she asked and watched Jane.

"_I'm trying to cook us a meal."_ The brunette replied and took some cooking books out of the shelf next to the fridge.

"_Can I help you?" _

"_Sure. I'm glad for any help, because I'm not a great cook to be honest."_

But Gradie was a great cook Jane thought. She has definitely spent too much time with my mother the brunette mused, while she watched the girl stirring in a pot.

Maura only came home, when both were in bed, so they had to eat dinner alone. It was delicious and it hit Jane, that their foster child had many talents. Gradie had given them a drawing for Christmas. It showed Jane and Maura sitting on their favorite stone in front of their cave. The picture was now hanging in their bedroom and Jane glanced at it. She loved it and it was perfect.

"_Hey Maur."_ Jane greeted the blonde as she came into the bedroom.

"_Oh, hey. I thought you were already asleep."_ The blonde replied.

Normally Jane would be asleep at this time. But she had been too worried, so she had decided to stay awake until Maura came home. Moreover, she hadn't seen the blonde all day, and had missed her. It appeared as if she would have to miss her a little bit longer, she thought, when Maura turned her back towards Jane in bed.

Jane absently played with the ring on her finger as she stared into the dark.

Things got only worse the next day, when the lab called Jane the next morning, to inform her that Maura had cut herself with a scalpel. The brunette rushed to the morgue and found Maura sitting on one of the tables. Her hand was covered with some towel, which was already soaked with blood.

"_She refuses to go to the hospital_" Mary, one of Maura's assistances whispered and Jane nodded.

"_I'm going to take care of it."_ She said and was grateful that by know word had spread that she and Maura were an item. Even though none of them had said it out loud, nor were they wearing their rings to work.

Mary appeared to be nervous but calmed down as Jane took over. The brunette felt her stare to the back, when she walked over to Maura.

"_Does it hurt?"_ Jane pointed to the hand which was wrapped into the towel.

"_I don't know how it could happen_." The blonde said and stared at the fabric. _"I'm always so careful."_

Jane nodded. Maura was indeed always careful and talented. But right now, her head was clouded by the problem with Constance. Instead of mentioning it she offered Maura a ride to the ER. _"You will need stitches I guess._" The brunette started to feel panic, seeing as how the towel became redder every minute.

Maura accepted her offer and seemed to be glad, that Jane would be coming with her. She even let Jane help her put on her jacket. On their way to the hospital, Jane talked about the light bulb to cheer her girlfriend up_. "Can you imagine that?"_ she asked. _"When reading this I ask myself why on earth we have to change our light bulbs so often"_ she chuckled. Maura even chuckled a bit with her. But the expected monologue, didn't follow so they fell into silence.

Jane touched Maura's thigh and rubbed her back, while they were waiting. _"Shall I come with you to the examination room?"_ the brunette asked the blonde who was now getting pale. Thank god her name was called shortly after. Otherwise Jane would have done something.

She helped Maura get up from her chair in the waiting room and steadied the blonde. A young doctor awaited them. Maura insisted on taking off the towel herself. Jane almost fainted when seeing the cut which was still bleeding. _"It's not that bad."_ The blonde stated as she saw Janes reaction. It must hurt like hell though, the brunette thought and took Maura's healthy hand, while the doctor cleaned the wound and gave the blonde four stitches.

"So, where do you think you're going?" Jane asked as Maura hopped of the couch after 5 minutes. The brunette had called in at work to see if she could stay at home to take care of her girlfriend. She was glad that there was no case.

"_I'm going to make me some tea."_ The blonde replied.

"_Here, let me help you!"_ the brunette stated. _"I can do it for you. You sit and rest."_

"_Jane, I'm ok. I can take care of myself."_ An unnerved tone showed in the reply.

"_I know that. But why wont you let me help you a bit?" _

Jane felt an uneasiness and started to wonder if Maura had a problem with her. Somehow it appeared as if the blonde hated her. She decided to go and make some hot beverages for them, feeling scared.

"_Maur…"_ she started when handing the cup to the blonde.

"_Jane. Stop mothering me. Don't you have anything else to do?"_ Maura interrupted Jane in a harsh tone.

"_Fine! I get it Maur!"_ the brunette snapped. She had enough of it. She understood that it made Maura sad and depressed how Constance had reacted. But she didn't see the sense in spoiling their life over that woman. She was angry because her girlfriend wouldn't even talk to her. Instead she was excluded of her life. It was as if Maura stood between Constance and Jane and had yet to choose one side. And the brunette couldn't help but think that the blonde was more on her adoptive mothers' side, who forced her to pick one of them in the first place.

Rubbing her head, Jane left the living room and strolled to the office. There was another couch she could crush on. She just wished that Maura would talk about it. The brunette thought that she had been really patient so far and wondered how much longer Maura's sadness and confusion could last and how she could help her. She missed talking to her. But also the physical side of their relationship.


	22. Chapter 22

The brunette was just about to fall asleep when she heard a soft knock on the office door. She opened one eye to see Maura standing there.

"_Can I come in?"_ the blonde asked.

Jane nodded and sat up, so that Maura had enough space to sit.

"_Thank you for the tea."_ The blonde said softly as she rubbed her injured hand.

"_it was a pleasure. Maur. I love to support and help you."_

"_And that's what I love about you Janie."_ Maura looked down to her arm. She appeared to feel ashamed for her behavior earlier.

"_Does it hurt?"_ the brunette asked and glanced at the arm too.

"_Yes."_ Maura replied. And Jane sensed that she was not meaning the injured body part.

She thought about pulling the blonde closer, but after being rejected so often over the last days, she dropped that idea and stayed put waiting in anticipation at what was about to come. Jane felt a little bit nervous but tried to stay calm.

"_I'm sorry for being so mean over the last days, Jane."_ The blonde stated in silence. _"I really appreciate that you never left my side and took over cooking and everything."_

The brunette nodded but waited with an answer as she felt that there was more to come.

"_It's just Constance. She called and asked if I had lost my senses. She's very good at blaming other people and making them feel bad. I keep falling into that trap even though I know how she is. And then I get mad at myself because I fall for it every time. But most of all I hate myself for letting her mess with my self-esteem. Her talk makes me wanna hate you because this" _she pointed with the finger to Jane and then to herself _"this is wrong according to her_."

"_That's the way you were programmed."_ Jane said and thought that this had probably been the reason why the blonde had refused to touch or hug her.

"_Thank you for your understanding. But the way I behaved is still not okay."_

"_Shall I talk to her?_" the brunette offered.

"_No! Yes! I don't know. She's still in town. She wants to meet me tomorrow."_

Jane looked puzzled_. "Tomorrow? Mind if I come with you?"_

Maura chuckled_. "I just had decided not to go. But maybe if you come and protect me…"_

Jane _laughed "I could bring my gun….",_ then she continued more serious. _"Honestly I have no idea what to do about Constance. I get, that she's important to you, and that you're entangled in this strange mother-daughter relationship with her. Its natural for a child to want to be loved by her mother. This is all such a mess."_

"_The point is, that I know how she is, and that I shouldn't care about what she says. But I just can't. I just can't stop loving her." The blonde sounded desperate. "I keep thinking that she must approve of my decision to be with you in order to legitimate our relationship. This is so crazy. Besides she keeps giving me the feeling that its wrong. I don't hate you, but I hate myself for doing so wrong."_

"_Story of your life, ha?"_ Jane asked.

Maura nodded. _"I'm afraid so."_

They looked at each other and Jane finally dared to go for a hug. Maura let it happen and sighed. _"I love you Jane. I love you so much." _

"_I love you too, Maur."_ The brunette said and gave Maura a kiss on the forehead.

The detectives phone started buzzing during dinner. _"I have to pick up."_ She stated after looking at the number. Jane was on call and quickly got dressed up because she needed to go to a crime scene.

"_Let me come with you."_ Maura pleaded with dog eyes. _"I need occupation, and I haven't seen my girl for a few days."_

Jane nodded while grabbing the car keys. The last part of Maura's sentence causing her to smile. _"Okay. But you better behave."_ She added and smirked playfully.

"_I will, I promise."_ Maura mimicked.

"_How's your arm?"_ the brunette asked while they were on their way.

"_It hurts a little, but I'll be fine."_

"_That's good."_ Jane noted as she parked her car behind another police car. It was already dark and the blue police lights where casting shadows on the surrounding, and made it look unreal. Frankie looked concerned as he greeted them. They knew the reason for his behavior when they entered the house.

It took quite a while to wrap up the crime scene, so they came home late. They found their foster child in front of the TV, sleeping on a pile of popcorn, and Jane had to think about Mrs. Woos warning. It made her laugh.

"_Come on sweetie, time for bed."_ She tried to awake Gradie softly but the girl had a hard time getting up. So, Maura pulled a cover from a drawer and pulled it over the young girl. Jane got an earie feeling when hearing the doorbell ring. It reminded her of the night before Christmas. A quick glance to Maura told her, that her girlfriend had the same thought.

"_Stay here."_ Jane said and went to the door. She wasn't surprised to find Constance on the porch. That woman was crazy. But Jane was willing to play it nice for Maura and to give her adoptive mother the chance to come around.

"_Hey Constance! Please come in!_"

"_Jane"_ the elder woman stated with a cold voice and wandered past the brunette.

If she would have had eyes to the back of her head, Constance would have seen how Jane grimaced.

The adoptive mother wandered right into the living room and shrieked when seeing Gradie sleeping on the couch.

"_Who's this?_" she asked after she gasped for air.

"_Our child."_ Maura replied in a neutral tone.

Constance gave a disparaging sound_. "So, you're living with a woman and you two adopted a child."_

Jane wasn't willing to say that Gradie was only fostered. She didn't want to talk to this woman at all.

"_Why are you here mother?"_ Maura asked in an unnerved manner.

The brunette noted that Constance hadn't even asked what had happened to Maura's arm, even though the blonde kept nervously touching it.

"_Why are you here Constance?"_ Jane repeated Maura's question trying to keep a friendly tone to her voice.

"_I'm here to talk to Maura. So, please leave."_ The please sounded more like an order than a friendly request.

"_I already told you that Jane is my partner. I don't see, why she shouldn't hear what you have to say." _Maura's look daring her adoptive mother to say another thing about her girlfriend. Jane decided to position herself behind Maura and put a hand on her shoulder.

"_Okay. As you wish…. Maura, I talked to Raymond. You must remember him. He was your best friend in college. He wants to meet you. He is a better match to you, than this woman. He has a good taste, class and a lot of money. And he wants to date you."_

"_Give me one good reason not to shoot her."_ Jane whispered into Maura's ears; dark eyes fixed on Constance who nonchalantly held the gaze.

"_Mother!"_ Maura shouted in disbelief. _"How can you say that?"_

Constance stayed firm. _"Because, my child, someone has to stop this nonsense."_

"_I'm not 5 anymore. You can't do that! I'm old enough to take my own decisions. And in case you didn't notice I'm happy! I have never been as happy as I am now."_

Constance chuckled mischievously with her tongue. _"You're stubborn like a 5-year-old for sure."_ The elder woman left after having said that. And Jane felt Maura exhale while letting herself fall against the brunette who was still standing behind her.

"_I'm sorry for what she said about you. Its not true and you know that."_ The blonde apologized.

"_It's ok, baby. I know it."_ Jane replied but still felt hurt and angry. "_We'll get through it. We always have, right?"_

Maura nodded, big crocodile tears running down her face. _"Yes, we have",_ she whispered.

Jane kissed her on the forehead and pulled her into a long, firm hug. She sighed and hoped that Constance would give them time to breathe before appearing and dropping some drama on them again.

"_Let's go to bed."_ Jane mumbled and took Maura by the hand.

Two nights later, Jane awoke to the noise of a breaking window somewhere in the house. She was immediately awake, listening into the dark. She glanced at Maura who looked panicked. The brunette put a finger to her mouth to tell the blonde to be silent. Then she slipped out of bed, ignoring the chills running over her body.

"_Jane!"_ Maura whispered, getting silent as she caught Janes look. The brunette cursed herself for leaving her weapon in the little safe next to the door. It was still silent, but she was sure that someone was in the house. She thought about Gradie who was hopefully still sleeping in her room down the hall. She was scared that the teenager would come out to see what was going on. This would have put her in danger. Jane tried to turn the doorknob as silent as possible after motioning Maura to the bathroom. The blonde understood the signs the brunette made with her thumb and her little finger and took the phone with her.

Jane managed to open the door a little bit, without making any noise. It was dark in the house. Maura had once told her, that the ears worked better when one couldn't see. Jane couldn't confirm that. But then, suddenly, she saw a shadow downstairs. She swallowed hard and hoped that Maura had managed to call the police.

_Hell, hadn't the last days been shitty enough?_ Jane thought and focused on the staircase. Where was the intruder now? Her eyes wandered to a bow and an arrow which Maura had hung up as decoration. Her mind was racing. Should she dare it and sneak down the aisle to fetch it? The brunette shot one more look downstairs. There was no shadow in sight. Maybe it was a burglar who was just stealing their TV and stereo. But with their jobs it could also be a murderer seeking revenge.

Jane decided to give it a shot, opening the door a little bit further and emerging of the room. Her mouth was dry as she thought: only two more steps. She could only hope that the bow was easy to fetch and still usable. The brunette held the breath as she heard steps on the staircase. Very slow but determined steps she thought.

Her mind was racing frantically as she did the only thing she could do. After stretching she held the bow and two arrows in her hand. It hit her that she was still naked. The absurdity of the situation almost made her giggle. Or maybe it was the panick?

The arrow was ready to be fired just in time. Jane had found a dark spot to hide, waiting for the shadow to appear. The brunette glanced, trying to find out who the intruder was, but the person wore a baseball cap shadowing its face. She could hear her own heart pumping and it seemed to be so loud that she was almost sure, that the person on the stairs could hear it.

The intruder just stood at the bottom of the staircase and appeared to be listening. Jane could clearly hear the agitated breath of the stranger. She slowly pulled back the arrow in the bow, closing one eye to target the figure, which still wasn't moving. Hopefully Maura wouldn't come out of the room. Then she pulled her arm from the arrow and watched as it flew towards the staircase.

A surprised scream emerged out of the stranger's mouth, as the arrow hit him into the chest. Then the person tilted backwards a little, but he didn't fall down the staircase as Jane hoped. A hand was able to grab the railing at the very last moment.

Jane didn't lose any time and put the second arrow into the bow. The person was now running towards her and she just shot the next arrow blindly. The brunette gasped in surprise when Maura opened the door and hit the intruder with a baseball bat.

The detective ran to the figure on the floor and grabbed its hands behind the back. She was surprised again when Maura offered her some handcuffs outr. To the blonde's amusement she shot her a questioning look which ended by saying: _never mind, explain to me later._

This is when they finally saw the blue light of a police car coming closer. _"Thank god."_ Jane mumbled.

"_Typical_" Jane muttered, _"they only show when the work is done."_

As soon as she had handcuffed the intruder, she turned him around to see his face. When pulling the baseball cap of his head she gasped in debrief.

"_Shit, you're naked Jane!"_ Frost gasped too. _"And you're…. You're sitting on me."_

"_What the hell!"_ was all that Jane managed to say.

They startled, when the doorbell rang_. "It's the police. I'm going to….."_ Maura had quickly thrown on a dressing gown and stood in the door to their bedroom.

"_You're dead!"_ she shrieked when she saw Frost on the floor. _"I felt your pulse. You're dead!"_

Frost shifted under Janes body. _"No police! They can't know I'm here!"_

Jane took Maura's dressing gown and quickly hushed Frost under the bed as the doorbell rang for the second time. The brunette hurried down the staircase and opened the door to officer Riley. _Thank god_, she thought. _At least I know him well. _

"_You called in a burglary."_ The officer feigned not to see Janes disheveled look.

"_Yes. We did."_ Jane answered and took him to the kitchen. She also hushed Gradie away as the teenager appeared and asked what had happened.

"_I think he got scared by me and left the house again."_

The officer nodded as he took out his old-fashioned notebook. "_Can you describe him?"_

Jane nodded and gave a description which couldn't be more different from Frost and hoped that Riley would buy it.

Then Maura appeared in the kitchen too. "_I need some tea after the shock._" She murmured and Jane tried not to laugh.

"_I will order a CSU team to check for evidence."_ The officer stated and shot them a soothing look. _"We are going to find that scumbag."_ He promised.

Jane felt panicked and glanced to Maura who got the hint. While the brunette kept talking to the officer, she took her teacup and wandered towards the living room.

The brunette gave her best to keep Riley busy until the CSU team arrived. He voluntarily accepted the offered coffee and kept asking questions, which Jane answered vaguely but careful so that he wouldn't become suspicious.

It was already 3 am in the morning when police had left after four endless seeming hours. Damn! the brunette thought and sighed feeling soar and tired. One of the officers had called his brother in law to put a piece of wood to the place where the window had been. It looked ugly, but that was the least of their problems she thought when turning to Maura who appeared to be relaxed and composed.

"_I think that I was able to retrieve all possible evidence while you were talking to Riley."_ She stated and pointed to a linen napkin which she had hidden in one of Janes trophies on the chimney. Maura giggled. _"Thank god no one noticed that I left the room with it. They need more training I guess."_

Jane laughed_. "You are the best."_

"_Now you can say that we are crazy old women."_ Maura sighed_. "Of course, you realize that you already cost me three linen napkins."_ The blonde stated and chuckled when recalling the incident where Jane hadn't been cleared for duty after losing her baby. Jane had stolen some files and worked secretly on the case anyway.

"_That's not correct Dr. Isles_" Jane replied still laughing. _"I ruined two, but it was not really my fault. And this one_" she said and pointed to the one in the _trophy "This one is going on Frost."_

"_Who cares?"_ Maura giggled. "_I'm going to survive it. Besides they were a gift from my mother, so I guess its karma."_

"_Karma?"_ Jane was always surprised when Maura, who was a scientist through and through, talked about things which couldn't be proved.

"_Yeah anyway. I'm curious about the story we are going to hear."_ The brunette said and walked towards the staircase.

"_Me too!"_ Maura noted and followed her girlfriend to the bedroom.

"_I'm still messed up. I swear that he was dead!"_

Jane paused and turned to the blonde. _"I don't doubt the quality of your work. But I'm also sure, that Frost is undead now. And I swear to god that if he doesn't explain that whole thing to us, I'll make him dead again."_

"_Well technically you almost killed him. It took me a while to take care of his wounds. That's why I was so late in the kitchen."_

Jane snorted. And I thought that you needed time to recover from the shock. The blonde tilted her head. _"I was too busy for that."_

Before entering the bedroom, they went to check on Gradie. Fortunately, she had slept through the incident and was still wondering what the fuss was all about. When seeing that she was fine Maura and Jane went back to their bedroom after telling her, that someone had smashed the window in the living room.

Jane sat down on the bed. "_You can come out now."_ She said. _"It's safe."_

"_Are you dressed?"_ Frost asked to everybody's amusement.

"_Yes. I'm decent now."_

The first thing to appear was Frosts head. He rubbed the place where the baseball bat had hit him.

He pulled some dust of his clothes. _"You should vacuum clean under your bed."_ He murmured.

"_Yeah, I'm sorry, we didn't expect guests tonight._" Jane laughed about the joke. It felt so good to see Frost again. No words could express how much she had missed him. She had an idea how he had ended up under their bed. But she waited for him to start.

He also sat down on the bed and told them how he had uncovered a crime while checking some facts for another case. They had put him into the witness protection program after staging his death. But now he was scared, feeling that his cover had blown, like it already had two times before.

"_So, you are the only persons I trust to protect and to help me."_ he finished his story.

"_I couldn't find out where you lived, so I decided to come to Maura."_ He added addressing the brunette.

"_Yeah, our live wasn't a piece of cake either._" She answered_. "My flat was burned down by some crazy chick, then there was a plane crash and well…."_

His eyes were wide open. "_Holy shit!"_

"_So, when did you move in here? And why were you naked?"_

Maura chuckled. _"Because I only allow her to my bed without clothes. And uhm well other reasons."_ The blonde winked at Jane.

Frosts eyes opened wider_. "You mean that you are together?"_

"_Yes."_ Jane smiled. _"And we have a foster child."_

Now the friends jaw dropped. "_Man, I missed out on everything!"_ he exclaimed.

"_We are going to take care of your little problem and make sure that you can walk back to your old life."_ Jane stated and hugged him.

"_Thanks. That would be really great."_ He muttered and Jane felt that he was overwhelmed.

She was too, to be honest. After all these years he was back. In reality she hadn't accepted his death yet. Maybe a sign from heaven she thought and glanced at Maura who kept telling her, that there was more between heaven and earth.

"_I have just one more question."_

"_Shoot."_ Frost demanded.

"_There was a time when I thought that I saw you. It was several times. Was that imagination or was it really you?"_

Frost looked down to his hands_. "It was really me. I tried to keep an eye on you and to help you with difficult cases. You have no idea how much it hurt to see you without being able to speak to you."_

Jane nodded. "_it hurt me too and sometimes it drove me insane. But you helped me a lot. Thank you."_

"_I was moved to another state the last time my cover was blown. I had no more possibility to follow your tracks anymore."_

"_That must have been when Maura and I got together."_ Jane giggled.

"_But tell me how you feigned your death." Maura asked still mesmerized. "I was there. You were dead."_

"_They have their methods you know."_ He started and told them about some medicine that made one appear death.

Only after knowing the secret the blonde lightened up. _"I could really have thought about that myself."_ And Jane patted her knee.

"_You were emotional distracted. There's a reason why we are not allowed to work these cases."_ She said.

Frost cleared his throat. _"I'm really sorry for causing you so much pain." _He said quietly.

"_Main thing is, that you're back."_ Jane replied. "_Besides, it must have been hard on you too. Leaving your life behind like this."_

Frost nodded and looked sad when recalling the moment, he had been told that he needed to go. "_I was at my funeral though."_ He stated. _"Thank you for your sweet words, Jane._


	23. Chapter 23

_Frost is back_, Jane thought and smiled. She didn't care, that she hadn't slept at all. Gradie had appeared in their bedroom after hearing a male voice. The girl had been worried, Jane thought, and was touched by it. They were a family, taking care of each other. The girl had recognized Frost from a picture which they had hung up in the living room. Jane was glad that Gradie knew how important it was to keep the whole thing a secret. She scratched her head, asking herself if he was safe in their house.

When arriving at the precinct she finished some paperwork in order to close a case. But her mind was rather busy finding ways to help Frost. This wouldn't be easy she thought. But on the other hand, they had solved more difficult cases in the past. The brunette waited impatiently for Frankie, who was out, taking the statement of a witness. She didn't dare to text him about what was going on, although she wanted to give him the news badly.

Jane finally wrote him a short message, when leaving the office at lunch time. _Going home, taking care of the burglary. Would you and Nina like to come to dinner tonight?_

When coming home, she found Maura, Gradie and Frost in the guestroom. They were chatting lightly, and it was obvious that the girl was fond of Frost. _"Man, he has some crazy stories to tell." _The teenager said in excitement, when helping Jane with making tea in. The brunette smiled, _"I bet he does."_ Hoping to hear the stories herself one day.

It was already late in the afternoon when Frankie replied. _Are you ok? Dinner? Sure! When?_

Jane typed a quick answer and added: _you might want to bring the puppet, wrapped as a gift._

Frankie send some question marks as a reply. But the brunette didn't answer. She had to chuckle though, remembering when she used to tease Frankie and Frost by calling their action figure a puppet.

Jane smiled when she opened the door at the given time, finding Angela on the porch.

"_Ma!"_ she exclaimed, and it hit her, that her mother hadn't just come in with her key as usual. _"Since when do you know that we have a doorbell?"_ the brunette asked and wiggled her eyebrows.

"_Jane Clementine Rizzoli! Don't you dare to be so naughty to your mother!" _

The brunette giggled_. "Sorry ma, I'm just surprised."_

"_Frankie told me, that you are having dinner. I hope you don't mind if I join?"_

Jane tilted her head_. "No, but you have to swear that you don't tell anyone about what you are going to see or hear."_

Angela looked puzzled. _"What the hell have you gotten yourself into again?"_

"_Ma…!"_

"_Okay, okay. I swear."_

Frankie and Nina arrived shortly after Angela. Her brother had actually really wrapped up the action figured and showed it to her sister who smiled.

"_Frost is back."_ Jane said, as the family had gathered in the kitchen, not knowing how else to say it. She glanced at shocked and confused faces.

"_Janie…"_ Frankie started into the quiet. "_Frost is dead."_

"_No, he's not."_ Maura stated matter of fact, taking a sip from her wine. "_He's in witness protection program. But his cover has blown. Barry needs our help."_

Now the faces turned to Maura. It seemed as if they were starting to believe them. They had prepared the dinner table in a way, that Frost could sit with them, without being seen from the outside. Maybe it was paranoid, but they didn't want to risk anything.

Frost finally appeared in the room and everybody gasped in shock. Angela was the first to walk over and take him into her arms. Then the other ones followed.

Frankie grabbed the present he had brought and gave it to Frost. _"This belongs to you."_ He said and smiled when he saw Frosts face after unwrapping the paper and seeing the blue action figure. _"Thank you."_ He said and everybody could feel how touched he was.

"_I know I ask a lot of you."_ Frost started as they had settled in the living room after dinner. "_But you are the only people I trust to help me."_

Jane felt Maura move closer so that they could spoon up together. Jane as usual laying behind the blonde, put her arm around the blonde's waist and sighed. She loved how her life had changed since the plane crash. Since, well, Maura had closed the distance between them next to the fire in the cave. Jane still felt aroused, every time she relived this moment in her memory or when she just thought about it.

A pleasant shiver ran through her body as she started to move her hands to Maura's breasts. A soft moan already escaping her girlfriends' mouth when fingers stroke over the soft skin and reached the nipples.

The blonde shifted so that she lay on her back, pulling Jane down for a hot kiss. The brunette felt a rush in her gut, when nipples erected and pushed against her fingers. She broke the kiss, eager to put them into her mouth and to play with them. More moaning as she nibbled and sucked at the nipples, and she felt wetness spreading between her legs. "You're so beautiful." Jane murmured and changed to a new position so that lay between Maura's legs. She started to kiss the soft skin at the inner thighs, working her way slowly towards the midst. then parting the soft folds and circling her tongue around Maura's swollen clit. She had a hard time focusing as the blonde was already licking her pelvis.

Jane almost screamed when she felt a finger pushing into her at the same time. She doubted that she could get any more aroused. Her hand reached for the dildo which she had grabbed earlier, and she too started to push into Maura, who immediately responded by moving her hips, the rhythm getting faster and faster until she climaxed screaming Janes name. that was just enough for Jane to come too. The brunette closed her eyes as the orgasm washed over her.

"_There's no better way to be awoken._" Maura stated after they had curled up together under the blanket again.

"_There's no better way to start a Sunday."_ Jane murmured and kissed Maura to her forehead.

"_Well, it could get better…."_ Maura stated and Jane shot her a questioning look. _"I always wanted to have breakfast in bed after starting the day with sex."_ Maura blushed and chuckled. "_Just to see if it's so great as one imagines it after watching the movies."_

Jane chuckled and decided that one day she would surprise the doctor with a breakfast in bed. But not today. Frankie and Nina had stayed until 2am. And they would be back soon to work on Frosts case.

Frost had told them everything he knew and pulled a USB stick out of his pocket claiming that it contained all the information he had been able to gather himself over the years. It was, in fact, a crazy story as Gradie had mentioned. Jane glanced to the girl who had quietly joined the task force, as she called it herself. Angela had done so as well. _"Just let her."_ Maura had said before going to bed the previous night_. "She is a good detective too."_ Jane could only agree, although not knowing how her mother did it, but she always found out stuff. So, it couldn't harm.

Nina seemed to get on well with Frost. After being a little shy at the beginning, they had warmed up to each other quickly and spent a lot of time in front of her laptop showing each other tricks and exchanging experiences. Both were very talented in their own way and seemed to be invincible when merged. Jane didn't want to know how much laws they were just breaking, while she and Frankie were studying some of the files they had drawn from various sources.

Basically, they knew who the culprit was, but the difficulty lay in proving the man's guilt. Only when he was in prison, Frost could be free again. Until then, Barry had to fear for his life. Jane knew about other witnesses who had already been killed and decided to take good care that this wouldn't happen to her friend.

The police officers assigned to the case had done a good job, as far as Jane could tell. But it was difficult to convict the criminal without evidence. And Frosts statement alone wouldn't be enough without it.

Jane scratched her head, feeling tired and soar. For a long time, the job had been everything to her. But her priorities had shifted, even before having a relationship with Maura. Was is dumb to say that she just felt too old for this job as a detective and for everything else that came with? Just like jumping from bridges, being threatened by psychos like Hoyt, going undercover… Causing pain to her loved ones, like her ma. She had the strange feeling, that this shoe didn't fit her anymore. But what else would she do? The excitement was all she knew, and she was scared that she would be bored without it.

She brushed her thoughts away as she saw Maura watching her with a concerned expression. The brunette shot her girlfriend a reassuring look and hoped that it would calm her worries down. She needed to calm down herself. She wanted to help Frost and needed to focus. The brunette would figure out everything else later.

Jane brightened up as Korsak entered the room. Frankie had invited him, stating that they could use all hands-on deck. Her former college was just as shocked as everybody else, when he saw Frost who was very much alive amongst the family. Of course, he was happy too, and settled on the couch next to Frankie, taking some files to read, eager to help.


	24. Chapter 24

Jane felt every bit of nervous when she was called to Cavanaughs office during the following week. As if solving Frosts case was not stressful enough they had gotten a new homicide to work on. Kent, who had become a close friend to Maura, had joined the force.

"Close the door." Was all Cavanaugh said when she entered his room. He appeared to be agitated and grumpy. Jane searched her mind for things she could have possibly done wrong but couldn't come up with anything. So, she just sat in silence and watched her boss putting his fingertips together in front of his body. This was usually not a good sign, which made Jane brace herself for the worst.

"_I have gotten a call from the FBI."_ He started and the brunette cringed. She waited as she knew that it was better not to interrupt Cavanaugh. "_They told me some strange story about Frost. Does anything ring to you?"_

Jane acted as if she knew nothing. _"The FBI asked me if my people had broken in into their system to steal information. So, detective Rizzoli, this is really not the time to play games. I know you, and I have the feeling that you know more than you tell me_."

He paused and watched her reaction closely_. "What did you say?"_ the brunette asked, now shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Yeah, she thought, I'm not good enough for this job anymore. I even lost my coolness and my poker face.

"_I told them the truth, which is that I know nothing about it. And that I was sure, that you had nothing to do with it. But I want to be honest here. I have the creepy feeling that I only told partly the truth, because as I said: I know you."_

He gave time for the words to sink in before continuing. _"So, I'm going to ask one more time. What do you know about Frost?"_

Jane shifted once more, her mind racing. She decided to be honest, hoping that Cavanaugh would help and trust her, like he had done so many times before.

"_Frost is alive."_ She finally stated, filling her boss in on what they knew and how they were trying to help him. Cavanaugh sighted after she had finished and leaned back in his chair. His eyebrows were furrowed as he thought about what he had just heard.

"_Well, I'm glad to hear, that Frost is alive. He was one of the best on his job. And a fine person too. How much time do you think you will need to solve his case?"_

Jane shook her head_. "I don't know. It's very complicated. And we only have limited resources. We have no time and no access to some important documents_." Now it was the brunette who sighed.

She glanced at Cavanaugh who nodded and remarked that witness protection and FBI were not very cooperative. Jane chuckled because she found that an understatement.

"_What exactly do you need?"_ her boss asked. Jane pulled a list from her pocket and put it on the table. Cavanaugh picked it up and smacked with his tongue as he read it line by line. A moment of silence passed before he cleared his throat and spoke up again. _"I bet the whole team is on it?"_

The brunette nodded and rubbed her wet hands against her trousers.

"_Good, I can't promise you anything, but I try to protect you as long as possible. Just try to work quick and keep away from alarming the agencies. I might be able to get you some of the documents. But as I've said. I can't and won't promise you anything. And if you see Frost, tell him he has a job, once he is officially alive again."_

Jane couldn't help but smile. She almost hugged Cavanaugh who dismissed her with a wink.

This evening Jane stopped by the church on her way home to thank god for her family, friends and Cavanaugh. He was a good man, she thought as she sat on the bench after lighting a candle. If ever somebody found out that they were working the case his had was also at stake. Not only for trying to get the much-needed documents, but also because it would shine a bad light on him if he said, that he didn't know what his detectives were doing.

Maura greeted her nervously when Jane entered the house. _"Where have you been?"_ she whispered. _"I called the office, but they told me that you have left ninety minutes ago."_

"_I was at the church. Why? Did something happen?" _

Maura turned her head towards the kitchen and as Janes eyes followed…. _"Shit!"_ the brunette almost blurted out loud as she saw Gabriel sitting at the counter talking to Gradie.

Jane set up a smile as she entered the kitchen and greeted the agent. _"Jane!"_ he said and looked delighted. _"Always a pleasure to see you. I'm glad you survived the crash. I wanted to call you, but I didn't know if you liked it."_

Gradie glanced at both and feigned to be busy stirring their dinner. Jane could see, that the teenager noticed the weird energy between the brunette and the FBI agent. She quickly brushed away her thoughts though and focused on Gabriel.

"_Thank you, Gabriel. Yeah, I'm glad too, that I'm still alive."_ Experience told her, that he wasn't just here to chat, so she decided to cut to the course. _"Why are you here? And please don't lie to me again, and say, that you missed me, and blablabla."_ The brunette noticed that she sounded harsher than intended. Must be the anger she thought as she watched him stare.

"_I'm here because one of you trespassed our security and pulled some file."_ He stated and glanced at her. "_Besides I get, that I will never have a chance with you as you obviously are into women."_ This time his eyes were darting towards Maura before going down to their matching rings.

Jane blushed for a second. She asked him for prove that it had been them who had committed the felony. Gabriel went silent for a while. _"We have none to be honest. Whoever did it was very skilled, and we both know that you have such persons in your unit."_

"_Now, there is a question I ask myself."_ Jane started. _"If Frost is dead, why the fuss about stolen files? Why calling Cavanaugh?"_

She glanced at Gabriel who scratched his head. He finally nodded and said goodbye. "Take care." Were the last words they heard before he shut the door behind him.

Jane went to the living room and collapsed on the couch. It was only ten minutes later, when she received a text from a prepaid phone. Check: what followed where numbers and alphabetic characters. She asked herself what that meant. But her guts told her that Gabriel wanted to help them.

It took Frost and Nina a while though to crack the code and when they were done, they started laughing. Nina opened her laptop and wanted to start typing. But Maura interrupted them. What if it was a trap? Damn we are really getting paranoid here, Jane thought as she looked over Nina's shoulder.

"_If it's a trap, we are going to find out. Believe me."_ Frost stated and Jane hoped that he was right. She trusted Gabriel, but what if he was about to do them wrong out of jealousy?

The code contained log in dates and number of files related to Frosts case. It took them about three minutes to download everything and to log out.


	25. Chapter 25

**authors notice: this is a smaller chapter. I have a lot of work to do for university right now, but I didnt want to leave you without update :)**

At first, the information pulled from the FBI appeared to be worthless. It just made no sense and didn't seem to help. Jane hoped that Cavanaugh would be able to provide the documents they needed. But she tried not to let her hopes get to high. In the meantime, it was business as usual at the precinct. The other case which they had to solve was nuts too.

When Jane returned from lunch with Maura, she found a box of files on her desk. _"Cavanaugh just dropped it."_ Frankie noted and looked up from his Computer. The brunette lifted the lid and peered inside. The almost full box surprised her. It meant that Cavanaugh had been able to find many documents. Her boss had been industrious for sure, and as she opened the first file, she noticed that he had made some notes here and there. Jane realized that Cavanaugh was not only a good boss, but also a good detective.

Obviously, he was also keen on helping them. Jane smiled as she hid the box under the desk for later. Even though she was curious about its content. But it had to wait for later.

It had become a habit for the group to meet at bacon hill after work. This day was no exception. Angela and Gradie were cooking dinner for the lot, while the rest settled in the living room to read the files. Cavanaugh's tiny handwriting was all over the pages. Jane scratched her head as she read one question he had written to the side. He was indeed a clever man she thought when seeing all the effort he had put in this.

She glanced at Korsak who was reading a sheet of paper thoroughly, looking excited. "I think I found something." He muttered without lifting his eyes. His hands started to shovel the files that they had pulled after the text message from Gabriel. Korsak smiled when he found what he had been looking for. Jane took the two sheets of paper he gave her, and lifted an eyebrow whistling through her teeth.

She had a feeling in her guts that they were about to solve the case.

"_Its time for a break."_ Angela shouted into the living room. And they all kind of jumped up, soar from sitting around a lot and hungry. They discussed their findings over Cannelloni and finally drifted to other topics.

Jane wondered how fast the days passed later that evening. "_So, what kind of wedding do you want?"_ she asked Maura who was reading some science journal, thinking that it was about time to start planning. The blonde lifted her eyes to Janes and let her girlfriend push a strand of her behind her ear. The brunette loved Maura's hair and how sometimes it fell wild into her face. Especially in the mornings, when her girlfriend had just gotten up.

She watched as Maura pursed her lips like she did sometimes when she was deep in thought. _"Maybe we should set a date first."_ the blonde said and looked at Jane. The brunette nodded. _"June would be nice. Don't you think so?" _

_Maura smiled. "That would be wonderful indeed." _

Jane leaned back to the couch and closed her eyes as she started to dream about that special day. She couldn't decide whether to wear a dress or a nice suit. It was going to be awesome anyway she thought as she imagined Frankie walking her down the isle. She also knew exactly who her best man would be: Korsak. She wondered who Maura was going to choose. Jane cringed a little as she thought of Constance and Hope. Hope didn't know yet. Was she going to react the same way as Maura's adoptive mother? Hopefully not. It was doubtlessly important to her girlfriend that at least one of her family members approved to their relationship.

The blonde knew, that the Rizzoli clan was her family, but she kept trying to bond with her family. It had been better with Constance for a while. But Constance was a stubborn woman. And she had her ideas about her daughter's life. Maybe she would finally come around and see how happy Maura was.

"_How about the 17__th__ of June_?" Maura interrupted her dreaming with a soft voice. Jane saw that the blonde had pulled out her calendar.

"Yeah, sounds great!" the brunette cheered. They both agreed that it would be nice to have the wedding in their garden. The brunette wasn't surprised when Maura also pulled a notebook out of a drawer containing lists. "What? I had some time, so I already wrote some important points to follow." Maura said when Jane giggled.

"_I love you Maura Isles." _Jane said and leaned forward to cup her girlfriends head with her hands. The brunette kissed Maura softly. The kissing quickly became into a make out. And they finally ended up in bed.

Any further planning would have to wait, they had other things in mind right now. But setting the date and the location was a good start, wasn't it?


	26. Chapter 26

Damn it! Jane exclaimed when looking through the papers. _"I have the feeling that we are almost there, but there is still a piece missing yet._" She combed her hair with the fingers, being frustrated, reading the file again. Somehow the brunette had a hard time on focusing on the case right now. The last week had contained far too much work and not enough sleep. Im missing something she thought and kept reading.

Only later, when in bed, a piece suddenly fell into place and completed the puzzle. Excited she jumped out of bed and ran into the living room. After pulling out the files of its hiding place, she looked for the right one. The pages couldn't turn quickly enough until she found what she was looking for.

A sleepy Maura stood in the doorframe and watched her girlfriend. _"What is it?"_ the blonde asked and yawned. Jane smiled, still excited, and showed Maura what she had found. Maura was immediately awake.

"_We all read this file, some even several times, how could we not see this?"_ she asked.

Jane tilted her head and said, that she didn't know. But there was the evidence they needed, hidden in plain sight. A statement from another witness about a gun. The brunette and Maura started to search the evidence list frantically, but as they had assumed the gun wasn't listed. The statement of the witness clearly said that he had seen the suspect with the gun. The gun was special because it had a red marking to the side. Now in another file, a guy called Thomas Craig, had reported a gun find while metal detecting in the woods near a crime. This very gun was wearing the same red marks to the side.

I wonder where this gun is, Jane thought and looked at the watch on her wrist. It was almost 10 pm. Was it impolite to call people this time of day? Probably. But she was willing to give it a try. She opened a webpage offering telephone numbers and typed the name Thomas Craig into the search field and then hit enter.

There weren't so many people with this name listed, but Jane was aware that their Thomas Craig could not be among them. For example, if he had a private number, he would only appear on a special list on their work computer. She pulled out her phone and called the first on the list. Maura did the same with the second one.

Both were the wrong Thomas Craig's. So, they continued and almost lost hope until a nice guy on the other end of the line confirmed that he had found the gun. Jane sighed. _"What happened to the gun?"_ she asked and hoped that he could give her the information.

"_I was allowed to keep it. Police was not so keen on taking it, so I took it back home." _Thomas answered. He denied the question if they could have it though because he had given the gun to a friend. Jane felt deceived but kept friendly and thanked the man who promised to see if he could get the gun back.

One thing was sure: the fingerprints on it were probably gone. But they could always get ballistic evidence.

Jane sent another prayer towards heaven when putting her head on the cushion again. It was always possible, that the FBI would try to interfere. Obviously, they were not happy that somebody was stirring in their files. The brunette thought, that it was rather a cover up for the FBI s sloppy work. Besides witness protection had failed to protect Frost three times. And she started to feel a little bit uncomfortable about the situation to be honest. So, Thomas better found the gun. That would make her sleep much better she thought.

Jane brushed her thoughts away, as she felt Maura's hand slip under her cover. They snuggled together as they did almost every evening.

"_Good night, baby!" _the brunette whispered and gave her girlfriend a kiss to the forehead. Maura pulled her a little bit closer and sighed. _"Good night, Janie."_ She replied. Jane couldn't help but smile into the dark. She really couldn't wait to get married to that woman.


	27. Chapter 27

Maura and Jane put in a request for a week off the first thing next morning. _"We could go to Paris for our honeymoon."_ The brunette had suggested during coffee in the morning. It was meant as a joke. So, she was surprised when the blonde's reaction was excitement.

"_I could finally show you the treasures of the city of lights."_ Maura exclaimed joyfully and Jane almost spilled her coffee.

"_Sure Maur."_ She replied after clearing her throat.

"_Don't worry, there will also be going out and other stuff."_ The blonde winked while laughing. Damn, that woman could really read her well, Jane thought and laughed with her.

"_But not too much going out maybe? Like night and day."_ The brunette stated with some dirty thoughts on her mind.

"_No, we will take care that some aspects won't get too uhh short. It's our honeymoon after all."_ Maura said in amusement.

Jane kept thinking about the wedding whenever time allowed it during the day. There was more dreaming and planning, which she really enjoyed.

"_At least the FBI won't call me for that."_ Cavanaugh's voice drifted to her mind ad she saw him pointing to the guestlist which lay open on her desk.

"_Well, I hope not."_ She stated and blushed. She had never done private stuff on her worktime before and felt somehow guilty. But her boss just smiled and asked if they had made any progress. Jane nodded as a reply. Cavanaugh seemed to be content with that answer and left the office.

Maura giggled when Jane told her about it later, stating that Jane was a naughty girl. The brunette snorted as she went to open the door for Frankie and Nina. Maura rolled her eyes as a reply to Janes noises.

Thomas Craig hadn't called yet and Jane was anxious that he wouldn't be able to find the gun anymore. So, the plan was to find some other evidence. Just in case the gun never showed up again. While Maura started to reread the autopsy report the other ones discussed the case again.

Jane glanced at Gradie, who showed a lot of interest in their work lately. She asked herself if Gradie was interested in becoming a detective one day. The young girl smiled at Jane who smiled back. Public school was doing her good. The teenager had already made some friends and Jane was more than happy for the girl. "She's great!" Frost whispered to the brunette. Both had hit off immediately. And Frost, who had become like an uncle, helped Gradie with her exams and homework.

"_Jane?"_ Korsak asked and repeated what he had just said, when having her attention. Another potential lead had come up. The brunette took a sip of coffee as she focused on the wall which now functioned as a white board.

It was late in the evening, when everybody was getting ready to go. Maura hung a painting over their "white board" and Jane decided to take Korsak aside. He was touched when she asked him if he was willing to be her best man._ "Sure, Jane. I'm honored. So, it's getting serious eh?"_

"_Yes."_ Jane giggled. "_It is."_ She couldn't help but smile and Korsak nodded. "You are a perfect match."

Yes, we are she thought as she and Maura settled to bed. Maura as usual reading some medical article after they had done some talking about the case. Jane was reading a thriller. But her mind wandered off, like it had done so many times in the last days. She had her guestlist ready. There weren't many people she wanted to invite, but the ones she had on her list, were very important to her. Besides they wanted to do the wedding in their garden which was not that big.

It was almost midnight when she received a message from Thomas. _Can't reach my friend, sorry. I'll try again tomorrow._

At least he hadn't forgotten Jane thought and prayed for good news the next day.

The next day started with sunshine. It was almost like spring when Jane drove Gradie to school. Lots of pupils were running around and the brunette was glad, that she hadn't go to school anymore. She picked some coffee on the way to the precinct where Frankie and Nina were already working on the other case.

After dropping her keys and gun to the first drawer of her desk she joined them. They had a suspect but weren't sure how to get a confession out of him. As Frankie and Nina seemed to have everything under control Jane passed at the morgue, where she was greeted by an overjoyed Kent, who had just managed to save another duck. The brunette chuckled as she saw them wander off to the elevators.

"_Where is he going?"_ she asked Maura who looked up form her microscope, surprised to see her girlfriend at this time at the morgue.

"_Who? What? Do we have another case?"_ the blonde asked cautiously. obviously not wanting to stop doing whatever she was doing.

Jane tilted her head and leaned against the desk_. "Nope. Just wanted to see you, as I happen to have a little bit of time."_

Maura smiled happily.

"_You have to see this!"_ the blonde said then pointing to the microscope, and the brunette closed one eye to peer with the other through the hole. _"What am I looking at?"_ she muttered as she could only see a green thing with a snowflake structure.

The blonde told her that it was some kind of fungus and lectured Jane until her girlfriend lifted her hand, laughing. _"Stop! I don't understand a single word you say."_

"_Yes, but isn't it beautiful?"_ Maura asked.

"_It was until you told me, that it is to be found in our food."_ Jane laughed and gave the blonde a soft kiss.

"_We shouldn't do this in the office again."_ Maura said after their kissing had become more intense and Janes hands had started fumbling on the first button of her blouse_. "You are right."_ Jane mumbled trying to cool down, blushing a little. This woman drove her crazy and she had to be careful not to get carried away.

She asked Maura again about Kent to change the topic. But didn't get an answer again. Probably Maura hadn't noticed Kent's new duck Jane contemplated in amusement.

"_Constance called."_ Maura stated, destroying the last bit of Janes desire to undress the blonde and take her on the desk again. The brunettes mouth went dry. Well that explained Maura's absence of noticing Kent she thought.

"_Oh. What did she say?"_ Jane asked. Maura explained that she hadn't picked up. Jane nodded, not sure what to say. The brunette thought if it would help if she talked to Constance. Probably not, seeing as the adoptive mother thought that she was bad influence on her daughter. But wasn't it worth a try?

"_Jane, where are you?"_ Maura asked with a worried look on her face, touching the brunette's arm.

"_I'm here baby."_ Jane replied and put a hand over Maura's brushing her thoughts away.

She left the morgue as her phone buzzed in her side pocket. Frankie needed some help and she needed to do some paperwork.

She knew immediately that something was very wrong, when she saw Frankie's face. _"The suspect from Frosts case is gone."_ Her brother whispered.

"_Gone?"_ Jane asked Frankie nodded and told her, that the guy had feigned to be sick in order to be taken to the hospital. The car he was taken in, had been hit by another car, and someone had helped the man to flee.

"_Shit!"_ Jane muttered, thinking about Frost who was still living in their guestroom. Was he in danger? Probably the criminal would want to find and kill him. She was just trying to figure out what to do, when her phone rang again, this time it was Cavanaugh_. "Come to my office. Now!_" her boss bellowed into her ear.

Jane felt immediately how the palms of her hand got wet.

Cavanaugh looked serious but worried too when she closed the door behind her. _"We have a problem._" He started and Jane confirmed that she had already heard about it. He shot her a sharp look over his desk and furrowed his eyebrows. The brunette noticed that her boss was nervous too.

Jane felt, that he was looking for a way to help them and Frost. But it was a very difficult situation. She still tried to cope with the shocking news and the thoughts in her mind were running wild. They had to find this guy as quick as possible for sure.

It was Cavanaugh who finally spoke what they both thought. Frost needed surveillance. And he offered Jane to take some time off, in order to stay at home. The brunette accepted. Frankie and Nina had almost solved the other case anyway. So, she texted Maura after leaving Cavanaugh's office and drove home.


	28. Chapter 28

Jane found Frost helping himself for breakfast, looking puzzled at Janes sudden appearance at noon. She could see him frown as it dawned on him that something bad had happened. The brunette told him the news right away and glanced at her friend who tried to steady himself on the counter. Frost usually didn't swear, in fact, Jane had never heard him doing so. The more it surprised her as he exclaimed a loud _Shit!_

"_I'm going to have an eye on you."_ Jane said as she patted his shoulder. Cavanaugh and she had discussed the possibility of a safe house. But on the other hand, it would be a good chance to catch the predator if he really came looking for Frost. So, they would clearly prefer to keep him at the house in beacon hill.

Frost who seemed to have read her thoughts nodded and stated: _"So, let the game begin."_ The brunette sighed. "_Its going to be okay_" she said, but she wasn't sure. They could only hope and do their best. Jane decided to call her mother. Angela should pick up Gradie from school and take care of her as she was worried that the teenager would be in danger at their house.

Afterwards Frost and she tried to figure out a plan how to proceed further. It felt a little like the movie Kevin home alone when they decided to put up alarms, which were supposed to notify them, in case their suspicion was right. She glanced at Frost several times while they were working on some basic traps. He didn't appear as worried as she would be if she were him. But the brunette could see that he was tired of running and hiding. Therefore, he seemed to hopeful that the predator would really come and that they could catch and lock him up once and for all.

Jane could hear Maura's car pull up in the driveway around midday, when they were almost done with their preparations. The brunette rubbed her palm against her thigh as she took one final look around and checked her mind for what else to do when hearing the key in the lock.

"_Hey baby."_ She greeted her girlfriend and gave her a kiss. The puzzled look on Maura's face reminding her, that she had only texted her that there was a problem at home which she needed to fix. But she hadn't elaborated what the problem was. It was Frost who filled the blonde in and Jane listened while making coffee for them all.

"_Can I have a gun now?"_ Maura asked with a half serious expression on her face after Frost had finished. Jane turned to her and sighed. _"Have you filled in the forms and completed a training yet?"_ also in a half serious manner. They had had this discussion before. And only once Jane had given Maura her gun, when she had urgently needed sleep and Maura had wanted to protect her.

"_I can handle a gun."_ Maura seemed to be a little bit offended now_. I bet you can_, Jane thought, _but I'm not sure if you would be able to handle the consequences if you shoot someone._ This is always hard – even if one knew, that the victim was a bad guy and probably deserved it.

Jane mulled over the fact that she was the only person in the house with a gun. Which was probably better anyway. Or not? They would see if the predator would come to their home anyway.

They just sat at the counter and sipped coffee for a while. There appeared to be an earie silence. The ticking of the clock was the only noise apart from a constant buzzing from the fridge. Jane realized that she had never noticed that the fridge made noises too before.

"_Have you talked to Constance?" _she finally broke the silence and glanced at Maura who slightly shifted on her chair, obviously feeling uncomfortable.

"_She has called me again, but I don't pick up the phone."_ She said and shrugged pushing her mug around.

Jane nodded and looked into her empty coffee cup, holding it firm between her two hands. They all were so tense, waiting, that they jumped as the doorbell rang.

The brunette thought that it was kind of ridiculous because the predator wouldn't arrive in plain sight during the day and ring the bell, right? Still she grabbed her gun as she went to open the door to find her mother with Cavanaugh standing on the porch.

"_Rizzoli."_ He said as he entered the house. Jane raised an eyebrow as she watched both walk into the kitchen. She couldn't say why, but something told her that her boss and her mother were an item again. They had been together a few years ago, until her mother had decided that she needed to find herself. Jane still cringed when she remembered the ugly dress Angela had bought for the breakup.

Maura busied herself and made more coffee as Jane entered the kitchen. Cavanaugh was talking to Frost. _"We just wanted to check on you, before picking up Gradie from school._" The brunette heard him say.

Jane took the phone of her belt pocket as a silent ring announced a new message.

_I have the gun. Shall I bring it to you? _The brunette had completely forgotten about the gun and got excited. We are still moving forward she thought and messaged Thomas Craig that she would come and pick it up. There was still enough time until her mother and Cavanaugh had to leave.

"_These are great news, right?"_ Angela asked when Jane got her jacket and the car keys. I hope so, Jane thought being cautious. First, they had to see the gun and check if they could still pull evidence. But it was some light at the end of the tunnel for sure.

Maura glanced at the shoebox in Janes hands and carefully opened the lid. _"Is it the right one?"_ the blonde asked_. "Yes, I compared it to the pictures. I don't know many other guns which have these typical red markings on the side. But I guess not many."_

Maura nodded and took the box out of Janes hands to take it immediately to the lab. _"Are you sure you don't want Frankie to pick it up?"_ the brunette asked, feeling uneasy. Maura had been abducted before and Frankie had a gun.

"_I'll be fine. Its just a 10 minutes' drive to the precinct. And I come home right afterwards._" Maura replied with a smile on her face.

The brunette just nodded and kissed her. Then she returned to Frost who had settled in the guestroom by now. She was still worried and wasn't able to relax. Only when she heard Maura's voice in the hallway, she felt better.

They talked about their wedding to distract themselves a little. The blonde handed Jane her guestlist. The brunette chuckled when she realized that they wanted to invite pretty much the same people. _"That's what happens when you are friends so long."_ Maura stated, and Jane nodded. Her girlfriend was probably right. _"Kent is going to be my best man."_ The blonde confirmed Janes suspicion. She thought that it was a good choice.

Night fell and the three of them watched a documentary on TV. Jane glanced at Frost and Maura and wondered if the predator was going to visit them tonight, if at all. Everybody seemed to be relaxed so she relaxed too, holding her girlfriends' hand while watching how a baby whale was born.


	29. Chapter 29

The night had passed without incident and Jane awoke soar and tired. She reflected if it was better not to know about perils and handle them when they came, or if it was better to know. Right now, she would go for option number one.

The brunette flipped through the paper, reading the most interesting articles. A run would be nice she thought as she noticed the sunrise in front of the kitchen window. The lab had not called yet. There was not much to do, except to wait and to go through the files again.

"_We could use the time and clean the house."_ Maura stated in a good mood, optimistic as usual. Jane took another sip and hid behind her mug. Cleaning the house was not her favorite pass-time. She felt a little bit grumpy and remained silent as Frost jumped up from his chair and offered to vacuum clean the upstairs rooms.

"_Janie?"_ the blonde asked with a smile. _"What do you want to do?"_ Just sit here and drink coffee she thought but she got up the chair too. "_I'm going to take care of the kitchen."_ She said instead and watched a singing Maura disappear to clean the living room.

Jane looked out of the window as she put the dirty dishes halfheartedly into the dishwasher. It was only when she bent down to choose a program in the menu, when she realized what was going on outside. The brunette froze as a bullet flew right through the window over her head. Damn it! She thought and crawled in a ducked position towards the door. The man had been standing next to the bushes of the driveway all the time. But she had been so emerged in her thoughts that she had noticed him only subconciously. Besides she hadn't expected him to appear in daylight.

"_Maura!"_ she shouted and went into the living room, where the blonde was listening to some classic music, while dusting the books and shelves. _"Maura!"_ She ran over to her girlfriend and pulled her to the floor by jumping on her.

"_Jane…"_ the blonde started with a smirk in her face, obviously thinking that Jane wanted sex. A bullet silenced her, and for a moment they could only hear the music and their heartbeats. "_Call the police and hide!"_ Jane shouted over her shoulder as she ran towards the entrance where she kept the gun.

She could see how Maura crawled behind the couch reaching for the phone on the coffee table. Jane tried to breath slowly, her senses in full mode. _Son of a bitch!_ She muttered as she tried to peek out of the window to see where the man was. But she couldn't see anybody on the streets or in the garden.

Who would have thought that house duties could save your life? She thought as she opened the door to a police officer who had been sitting in a car outside, surveilling their house. "_Are you okay?"_ he asked breathless from the run.

Jane glanced at Maura behind the couch and Frost coming down the stairs and nodded to the officer. _"Yeah, we're okay."_ Needless to mention that even though they had known that this could happen, they were shocked.

"_I'm getting really angry now!"_ Maura said as they were cleaning up the mess. The brunette felt angry too. Unfortunately, no one had seen the man from up close. All they had was a vague description of Hight and clothes which was not very helpful.

Even the neighbors who had heard the shots couldn't deliver a description. Jane wondered if the uninvited visitor was the predator himself or one of his friends, who had blown Frosts cover.

"_Sorry for your windows."_ Jane mumbled when she hugged her girlfriend.

"_Oh, come on Janie, none of this is your fault."_ Maura cupped the brunettes head with her hands to give her a kiss.

It didn't take long until Frankie arrived to check on them. He handed Maura a blue file from the lab after hugging them. The results from the gun Jane thought and hoped that it would at least contain the missing evidence. Then they only had to find the predator and put him behind bars.

Maura read the file attentively under Janes watch and nodded when she closed it. "This is it." She said. "_We have him. The lab confirms that he did it. And it will stand prove in the trial."_

Jane who had held her breath exhaled loudly and sighed. At least we have that one she thought.

"_Do you think he will try again?"_ Maura asked when the lay down to sleep later that evening. Jane had also wondered. Seeing as to the fact that he must know now, that the house was under surveillance it was a good question. But maybe he had also noticed it before the attack, because he had chosen a position where the police officer couldn't spot him from the car.

"_He has to, right? I mean its his only way to get Frost." _The brunette finally replied.

The blonde took her time to think about it. Jane studied the elegant features of her face. Maura agreed after a while, pulling the cover up a little. The brunette checked if the gun was in reachable position and then switched of the light. She had the feeling that it was going to be a long night. Her body was craving for some rest, but she didn't dare to sleep. Maybe she should get Maura a gun she thought. Maybe this was right after all.

She slowly stretched her legs which were hurting after spooning up with her girlfriend so long and sighed. According to the clock it was 2 am and Jane now had to fight the sleep_. "Jane, why don't you sleep a bit. I can stay awake. I can wake you up if something happens." _Maura's voice drifted to her.

The brunette was happy for the offer and fell into a restless sleep full of nightmares until the morning dawned bright and sunny over beacon hill.

Some days went by without any notable incident. Jane started to wonder what the predators next step would be. Maybe he hadn't seen the surveillance car after all when he had come the first time. Or he was working on a new plan. Anyway, she hoped that they would get him soon. So, while first they worked on finding the matching evidence, they now worked on how to find him.

Maura had started to go to work again. Something Jane hadn't been happy off. _"I need to go to work. There are new cases and Kent can't work them all. But don't worry, I'm going to be careful."_ The blonde said that morning when she kissed Jane goodbye. And Jane knew, that she too, couldn't stay at home forever. But hopefully it would all be over soon.

Frost didn't seem to be happy either as he wandered restless around the house. Always careful not to get to close to the windows. The brunette sat on the couch and watched him going through Maura's books. Taking one or another other out, reading the text about the content at the back and then putting it back into the shelf. It made her nervous, so she got up and went into the small office, checking her mails.

She spent some time staring at the home screen of the computer which showed a picture of her and Maura. Both smiling widely into the camera. She wondered what her life would be like now, if the plane crash hadn't happened. This was a little game she used to play for herself.


	30. Chapter 30

Jane tossed and turned in bed, tormented by a nightmare about Maura being abducted and raped just to hurt her. Like it had happened in one of the previous cases. She got up at 4 am after waking up soaked in sweat. She went into the kitchen to make herself some tea.

How much longer would this take? She thought as she rubbed her head. the brunette wondered how Frost and Maura could sleep so well. Maybe its because they know that you take care of them a voice whispered inside her head. Frankie had offered to help her, but she had denied. "The surveillance team in the street will do their job." She had said although remembering that the last time they had totally missed the predator. But she hoped that they were more awake now. Besides she feared that whoever was chasing Frost would be scared off by too many people in the house.

For a while she just sat and stared at the clock over the door, her mind completely blank. Then she decided to open the fridge and make herself a sandwich. She missed having Gradie around. She wondered what Mrs. Woo would say if she knew about the situation. Was there a way for her to find out? Anyway, Jane hoped that the problem would be solved soon.

There must be another way than sitting around and waiting she thought. There must be another possibility to find him. But this was very difficult without any clues or description. The officer would have better followed the predator than coming to the house in order to check on them. It was good to know that Korsak, Frankie and Nina were on board and still working on finding the bad guy.

"_One day, you will make a mistake."_ Jane thought. "_And then we will find you."_ She got off the chair and went back to bed where Maura snuggled herself into the brunette's arms. Jane heard a noise which made all little hairs on her body stand up, just when she was about to relax again.

Alerted she grabbed the weapon on the nightstand and got off the bed. But before she knew a man in a dark suit was standing right in the middle of the bedroom. _"I wouldn't do that."_ A harsh voice whispered to Jane and the brunette could see how a gun was pointed to her and Maura. "_You shouldn't have gotten into the way."_ The voice stated and demanded that the brunette tossed her gun to him.

Jane hesitated for a short moment than decided that it would be better to do as he said. She felt her girlfriend stirring in bed next to her. _"What is it?"_ Maura mumbled, still half asleep. The man tossed Jane two pairs of handcuffs and ordered her to put one on the blonde and one on herself.

He was good she thought, he had everything planned through obviously. And she hadn't really heard him coming. The brunette knew that she couldn't fool him by not putting on the handcuffs properly. So, she turned to Maura and whispered, _"I'm sorry baby."_ The blonde looked at her with eyes wide open as she felt the iron on her skin and Jane cringed. Her mind racing about what to do. Was Frost awake in the other room? How had the intruder been able to come in and when? Had he already been there while she had drunken tea in the kitchen? Probably she thought and felt freaked out and stupid.

She tried not to hurt Maura while going through her possibilities. _"I'm sorry Maur."_ The brunette whispered again, and she could see Maura nodding. _"Its ok Jane." _The blonde said in a silent tone, her hazel eyes locking with hers. Jane shivered as she saw trust and love in these eyes. She turned away quickly so that her girlfriend wouldn't see her dwelling tears and panic. What if she couldn't protect her woman? Would Maura be hurt and then ever trust her again?

The man interrupted her thoughts by hurrying them up. Jane shot a look towards him, measuring the distance. He had come closer to check if Maura was tied up properly. Then she swallowed hard, took a deep silent breath and jumped off the bed towards him.

She heard a shot, but she didn't care as she managed to pull him down. The man was strong. She could feel his muscles as she started to wrestle with him, rolling around the bedroom floor. Her hands tried to reach for his gun, but it seemed to be an impossible task.

Suddenly she saw a foot stepping on the intruders' arm so that he had to drop the gun. Frost bent down to pick it up before handcuffing the guy.

Jane stayed on the floor catching her breath. Just a few seconds, she thought and wondered why the world around her started to become dizzy. She heard the voice of Maura, panicked, but couldn't understand what she was saying. She felt someone touching her and tearing on her body.

She realized that she must have been shot and then passed out.

When she woke up, her mouth was dry. Jane couldn't remember what had happened and was startled to hear some beep noises. As she looked around, she found herself in a hospital room, surrounded by machines. Only then she started to recall and felt immensely relieved when seeing Maura being well. The blonde was sitting on a chair in a green gown. The only thing which wasn't covered were her eyes. The brunette would always recognize them. No matter where, no matter when. A warm hand squeezed hers and Jane closed her eyes as she felt tears dwelling up covering her face.

Maura took her hand away after one more squeeze to push a button on a command next to her bed. _"Shhhh."_ Jane heard her say with a soothing voice. It hit her then that she still had a tube in her mouth. "_You had an operation. Its all going to be fine. The doctor will be here any minute."_ Her girlfriend said and caressed the brunettes face softly. Jane nodded moving her hands slightly.

She heard a door open and watched a doctor move closer to her. Maura stepped away to give him space. The man introduced himself as doctor Honeywell and explained every step he did. The examination seemed to last forever, and Jane saw by his look that it seemed to be all right.

After getting rid of the tube and some machines, Jane felt much better. She wanted to sit up and Maura helped her. She took some careful sips from a cup while the blonde told her, that she had been shot into the chest_. "Your ribs will certainly hurt for a long time."_ Maura said as she wrapped her arms around Jane who heard the other woman's heart bumping. She sucked in Maura's scent and remembered all the times she had adored it when hugging her friend. It made her feel at home. And now that they were a couple, she adored it even more.

She could have stayed in Maura's arms forever, but she had to use the bathroom. So, she broke off the hug and told the blonde so. Her girlfriend helped her getting off the bed and walked with her. _"I can't uhm do my business when the door is open"_ Jane muttered. But Maura won't let her close it. At least the blonde had turned around and the brunette rolled her eyes.

Once back in bed she felt a lot of pain. _"You shouldn't be moving so much."_ Maura said and smiled; caressing Janes face again. The brunette sighed. _"Obviously not. Damn it."_

She looked at the blonde and then they started to chuckle. Jane wasn't a patient patient. But neither was Maura who now carefully crawled into the bed so that she could hug Jane again. The brunette relaxed.

Frankie was now taking care of Frost. Unfortunately, it was not over, because the intruder hadn't been the man they were looking for. But at least Frost was being taken care of. And maybe they were able to find the bad guy now that they had one of his men.


	31. Chapter 31

Jane lay awake in the dark. Maura was silently sleeping next to her. Her chest hurt like hell and she had a hard time breathing sometimes. The blonde was clearly exhausted, spending all her time at the hospital, hoping for Jane to wake up. Angela had told her, that her girlfriend only left her side to go home in order to shower and to get new clothes.

Her mother had swung by earlier that day, bringing Gradie with her. Jane had been happy to see them. Gradie had yet painted another picture for the brunette who had set it up right next to her hospital bed. Whenever she felt stressed, she looked at the beautiful scenery of a valley and some mountains. This was very soothing she found.

She was also glad that Maura was so close to her, not leaving her side. Covering her face with kisses, squeezing her hand and helping her move around the room when she was tired of laying in bed. Jane mulled over the fact, that she was allowed to go home tomorrow. Was their home safe? Angela had offered that they could stay in her guestroom. At first, Jane hadn't been happy about that idea, but the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that it was the right thing.

There were no stairs in Angela's house, and she could stay in with Gradie who had holidays. They could watch movies together and linger on the couch. Jane smiled to herself as she thought about all the horror movies they could watch together.

"_As if we didn't have enough horror in our lives."_ Maura had once snorted. But Jane knew that the blonde didn't mind. Occasionally, Maura even joined them, which Jane liked because the blonde was always scared. And then she usually came very close.

Jane sighed as a nurse came without another round of painkillers. She didn't like taking them, but with the pain in her chest she was very grateful. After swallowing the pill, she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Painkillers always made her dizzy and sleepy.

"_You still have to be very careful!"_ Maura noted helping Jane onto the couch. The brunette snorted. _"Don't worry, baby, I'm not really in the mood to run around yet."_

Maura snorted too but turned to the kitchen to make themselves something to drink. In the meantime, Jane watched to the computer monitor which showed pictures of the entire house – inside and outside. Frankie had organized the cameras from DEA and Korsak had set them up. The blonde had only agreed on doing so, because she was tired of unwelcome visitors. Moreover they would get a house alarm system installed the next day

She returned with a tray on which Jane not only spotted the mugs but also her favorite cookies. _"Yummy!"_ she exclaimed and took one right away.

As Jane and Maura had been attacked, the investigation had become official. Which meant many more resources were now available to solve the case. The only thing which worried Jane was that there was a possible spy at the precinct. The guy they were chasing had a lot of money and he obviously could buy people. Like the man who had almost killed her she thought and cringed.

They had gone home instead of to Angela's though because Jane feared that her mothers' home would be vandalized too. But Gradie would visit her and then they could watch horror movies, while eating pizza in front of the TV later that day.

She almost chocked on her cookie when the doorbell rang. It was too early for Gradies visit, so the brunette wondered who it was. Maura, who had hired a bodyguard went to open the door with him. Jane rolled her eyes. She thought that it was too much fuss to hire him. First, Frost wasn't living with them anymore. Frankie had found a safe place for him. And by now he was officially alive again, which meant that he would soon get his job and his gun back. Second, they had cameras everywhere.

The bodyguard opened the door and Jane heard Constance's voice. She rolled her eyes. That woman was like a boomerang, always coming back_. "Mother!"_ she heard Maura say and watched as Constance intruded into the living room.

"_You haven't answered my calls, dear. So, I figured that I come by and check if you are all right."_ Yeah, she wants to see if I have killed or dragged Maura to the dark side yet, Jane thought and waved even though she had earned a mischievous look from the older woman right away.

"_Mother this is not the right time."_ Maura stated flatly already feeling overwhelmed by her adoptive mothers' presence.

Jane felt bad for the blonde who nervously fidgeted with a button of her blouse. It was about time for things to change she thought as she got off the couch not sure if she should talk to Constance or let the bodyguard kick her out of the house. But she felt, that even though the picture was amusing, Maura wouldn't appreciate that. It hit her that this still felt more like Maura's house in which she was only a guest. That thought made her sad somehow. It wasn't on Maura. It was her own fault. The blonde had done everything to make her feel at home, but it probably took time until this whole thing with the relationship settled.

Maura ordered her to go back on the couch as she saw what Jane was doing. "_No unnecessary movements, remember?_" She reminded Jane with a soft tone who did as she was told, snorting again. Then turning to her mother, _"I don't know how often I must tell you, that this is my life now. I love it and I won't change it. I would love you to be part of it. But this of course means that you have to accept who I am and whom I with."_

Jane saw Constance gasp at Maura's declamation. But unlike the previous times, the older woman stayed. _"All right, so let's sit and talk."_

Maura nodded and offered her mother a seat. After fetching another mug from the kitchen, the blonde sat down next to Jane, taking the brunettes hand.

One could clearly see how uncomfortable that site made Constance. But the woman said nothing and hid behind her mug instead.

"_Yeah well at least we have this part solved."_ Maura noted as they crept into bed after Constance had left. Jane wasn't so sure, but she hoped so. Maybe she could be a little bit more optimistic like Maura she thought. The talk had been good, and the older woman had even hugged her when leaving.

Both, Maura and she had declined Constance's offer to pay for the wedding though. Fearing that the adoptive mother would want a say in their celebration then. The last thing they wanted was that their wedding became a huge social event. _"We want to keep it small and simple." _Maura had stated and Jane had watched Constance swallow hard. But the rules were clear. The blonde was a grown up now, and she was the one to decide.

So, the older woman gave in to each and everything.

Jane reached over to the blonde and started to kiss her girlfriend while her hand wandered over Maura's curves. The blonde moaned a little. _"Maybe we shouldn't do that."_ She said but Jane replied. _"Wasn't it you, who told me that sex was very supportive to healing?_" the blonde chuckled_. "Yes, but I'm not sure if its good for your chest. You sometimes still have a hard time breathing. And as far as I know…"_ Jane covered Maura's mouth with another kiss before the sentence was finished and the blonde finally gave in being a little bit horny too.

Jane let Maura undress her and watched as the blonde softly covered her body with kisses. She found Maura very strong, as her girlfriend sat on her and held her arms down. And she was also surprised that she liked being tied down like that. It was hot and Jane moaned as she felt the wetness between Maura's legs raise on her belly. This woman definitely had the power to drive her crazy. Especially if she teased her like now, with her hands and mouth, leaving burning trails all over her until she came with a loud scream. Maura seemed to be awfully pleased by herself, when Jane opened her eyes after having raveled in the aftermath of the orgasm.

Jane pulled Maura into her arm and gave her a kiss on the forehead before snuggling into each other. _"I love you."_ The brunette whispered. "_I love you too."_ Maura replied and smiled.


	32. Chapter 32

After a long relaxing weekend on the couch, Jane dressed up for work. Very much to Maura's disaprovement. _"I swear that I'm only going to sit at my desk."_ The brunette said and lifted her hand in scout style. The blonde snorted.

"_You need more rest."_ Jane heard her say knowing that the blonde was right. But how could she sit at home when the predator was still free? The brunette finally gave in as she felt some pain in her chest during breakfast. At least Gradie had moved back to the house. So, both could spend some time together Jane thought as she watched Maura get dressed for work.

"_I keep you updated."_ The blonde promised and kissed her girlfriend goodbye. Janes eyes followed Maura's car down the street, then she turned around and sighed. She sat down on the couch, picking up one of Maura's magazine and flipping through the pages.

She put the journals down after a while thinking about what Frankie had told her about the intruder who shot her. Presumably he had entered earlier in the night by breaking in through the door. He had confirmed that the guy had been there all the time while she had been sitting in the kitchen, hiding in a cupboard in the office. The guy had told them during the interview, that he had waited patiently until Jane had gone back to bed. First, he wanted to tie up both women and then shoot Frost.

Jane couldn't help but wonder, why Maura had never installed an alarm system to the house before. Seeing as she lived in beacon hill, where burglaries happened quite often and with all the values the blonde had in her house. Well at least they had one now.

Her mind wandered to the question where Frosts enemy could possibly hide. A bolo had been issued already before the attack to her. How could this guy move without being noticed or seen?

She took a deep breath as her chest still hurt. Damn it! She hated it when she was not healthy and slowed down. It made her feel weak. And she had the feeling that she couldn't think as clear as she needed to, in order to solve the case.

Sighing she stood up from the couch and looked out of the window to the street. There was no traffic as everybody was at work now. The brunette observed the surrounding closely looking for some unusual stuff. She watched as a woman with a little dog passed by in front of her house.

The surveillance car was parked just a few houses on the other side of the street. If she hadnt known that it was there, she wouldn't have noticed it. Somehow, Jane had a very bad feeling. She recalled Korsak saying that he trusted her gut one hundred percent, for it was almost always right.

So, she threw another close look out of the window. And there he stood, watching the house too. Could he see her as clear as she could see him? He was wearing a Jean, a shirt and a hat. If he hadn't looked up, she wouldn't have seen his face so clearly. After having seen his picture so often, she immediately recognized him.

The brunette stepped back from the window and grabbed for her phone while keeping an eye on him_. "Frankie, he's here, right in front of our house."_ She said after her brother picked up. Then she took her gun after hanging up and waited. She had promised Frankie not to move and to let the officers from the surveillance team handle it. But she wanted to be prepared.

Jane kept watching the man, who hardly moved and asked herself what he was waiting for. This is ridiculous she thought feeling uneasy, holding her breath as one the officers stepped out of the car. The man looked surprised at first and then started running. The unmarked police car slid out of the parking lot and followed. Jane waited nervously as they had gone out of sight, still holding her gun firmly.

It was only half an hour later when she received a call from Frankie that they had been able to catch him. Just in time before Gradie appeared in the door. Jane gave a relaxed sigh and hugged the girl spontaneously. Somehow, she was unable to believe that it was finally over.

That evening they threw a big party and all helpers appeared. The house was buzzing with people and Jane took a short moment to sit with Maura on the couch. Their hands found each other as so often over the last month and kisses were exchanged.

"_What are we going with the wall now?"_ Jane asked Maura who smiled.

"_Nothing."_ She said and took a sip from her wine_. "It will always remind us of how strong we are as a team."_

Jane looked to the lots who were laughing and chatting, while waiting for dinner. She lifted her hand to push a strand of Maura's hair behind her ears.

"_I thought we could use it to plan our wedding."_ She said softly and chuckled, being half serious.

Hazel eyes locked with hers, then they giggled. "_Our wedding."_ Maura mumbled with dreamy eyes and played with the ring on her finger. Jane kissed her once more and pulled the blonde to her feet as she heard Angela call them for dinner.

Frost held a little speech thanking them all before eating and the brunette wasn't the only one who had a tear in the corner of her eye as he spoke. When Frost told about his nightly encounter with a naked Jane and a bow everybody laughed, and the brunette blushed slightly. She shot a quick look to Cavanaugh who sat next to Angela and was surprised as he nodded and smiled.

It hit her that she liked him. And she could see, that he made her mother happy. So, she just smiled back. After Frost was done with his speech, her boss stood up to say a few words too. He cleared his throat and started by saying how proud he was to have such a good team. All of them felt touched when he concluded by welcoming Frost back to the living and therefore to the unit.

There had been many moments over the last weeks, when Jane had thought about quitting the job and doing something else. But they were gone. This was her job, her family, her live. And she embraced and loved every part of it.


	33. Chapter 33

**Epilogue**

The sun was shining very bright that day, when Jane rose, groaning from not sleeping enough. Her mind had kept her awake for most of the night. As had Frosts couch which was as much uncomfortable as was Maura's in her office.

The young detective poked his head around the corner to verify if the brunette was still sleeping. Satisfied with the view of her standing in the middle of his living room, he retrieved into the kitchen, where she could hear the coffee machine.

_Thank god_, she mumbled, following her friend to catch some of the steaming fluid.

Frost glanced at her while sipping his slowly, grinning like a child.

"_Are you nervous?"_ he questioned her, and she could feel his excitement as if it was his wedding.

Jane played with the mug while contemplating. No, she wasn't nervous about tying the knot with Maura, and she was sure that marrying Maura Isles was what she wanted. What had kept her awake all night had been her perfectionism. She had worked over her vow so many times that she had completely lost track.

"_Hell Jane, just say how you feel. It will be fine._" Frost stated when she mentioned her worries to him.

"_Yeah, see, that's my problem, I have so many feelings, there is so much I want to say."_ She said rubbing her eyes ignoring his chuckle.

"_You know."_ He said, putting his cup to the counter. _"I always wondered how you do it. You can be so strong and soft at the same time."_

Jane glanced up at him, mesmerized by the feeling that this young man admired her while she constantly had the feeling to be a total mess. She wanted to be seen as tough because it helped her with self-protection. But Maura had melted the ice layer by layer, just like her friends had. Jane had to remind herself constantly that she didn't need to protect herself when being with them.

"_I need to go shower."_ She grunted unable to help herself with playing the tough one.

Frost smiled knowingly and offered to prepare breakfast. But Jane immediately declined his offer because she felt far too nervous to eat. _"You'll be fine Jane."_ He yelled after her as she disappeared into the bathroom.

Jane heard Korsak, Kiki and Frost having fun in the kitchen while glancing at the reflection in the mirror. _Uhm you look good Jane Rizzoli_ she mumbled to herself seeing how well the beige suit fitted on her tall body.

"_You sure do!"_ Korsak voice suddenly came softly from the doorway smiling at her through the mirror reminding her with a gesture to the watch on his wrist that it was time to go. "_I'm sure you don't want to be late for your own wedding." _He said, still smiling.

Jane blushed as the old man had caught her talking to herself, turning around, grabbing her jacket.

"_Uh yes. I'm coming_." The brunette said, following her former partner to the car.

Frost and Kiki climbed the back seat and the younger detective handed Korsak a CD before driving off claiming that he had made this especially for the drive to the wedding. Jane watched as the disc slipped into the player and held her breath waiting for what was on it.

Everybody laughed when a woman's voice started to sing: _going to the chapel and we…._

Jane rolled her eyes but had to laugh too.

Gradie was already waiting on the porch for them to arrive. _"You're late!_" she pouted breathless and let Jane pull her into a hug.

"_No, were not honey."_ She said smiling at the girl they had finally been allowed to adopt. _"Technically we have five minutes left." _The brunette chuckled turning to her gang yelling "_Lets go guys, otherwise we are really going to be late."_

Maura would tease her later how everybody had heard her and laughed. But Jane had no idea right now, as she walked down the aisle with Korsak smiling at family and friends who had taken place on the chairs in the garden of beacon hill.

Janes jaw dropped when Maura finally appeared, smiling wildly and the crowd turned at Janes gasp to see the blonde standing there in a stunning white dress. She looked composed but Jane could see that she was nervous by the slightly swaying bouquet in her hands.

Kent and Maura walked down the aisle graciously and elegant to stand next to Jane and Korsak. The brunette couldn't help but reach for Mauras hand and squeeze it. They greeted each other with a kiss on the cheek and Jane muttered _Gosh, your gorgeous_ to Maura's ear. The blonde chuckled softly whispering back that Jane looked beautiful too.

The judge cleared her throat and smiled at them. She had known Maura and Jane forever and had been very pleased with the development of their relationship. She gave the sweetest speech ever and then mentioned that it was time for the vows.

Both women turned to face each other and chocolate brown eyes locked with hazel ones as Jane started to speak.

"_You never know how frozen you are until someone starts to melt your ice. And you Maura Isles melted my eyes layer by layer and made me realize how wonderful love can be. I love you so much and I want to spend the rest of my life with you and our daughter."_

Jane glanced towards Gradie when saying the last words, seeing that the teenager fought with tears. When Maura spoke up after giving them a moment, she looked back at her.

"_Jane Clementine Rizzoli"_, she started, which made some people chuckle, knowing that Jane hated being called by her middle name. But only Maura could call her that without being killed. _"I love you too and I'm only too glad that we are standing here today. I have to admit that I fell in love with you the day we met, and this love has grown constantly over the years. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you and Gradie."_

They exchanged the rings and fell into a deep kiss until Frankie shouted "_Hell, get a room girls_."

They had to break the kiss and laughed to each other's mouth before finishing with one more short peck. Then Jane unwrapped her arms from Maura's waist and turned to shoot her brother a pretended stern look before blushing slightly.

Much later that night, or early next morning, depends on how one wanted to see it, Jane carried Maura into their bedroom. Everybody had gone home after a great party and the following silence felt soothing.

"_Unzip me Jane._" Maura mumbled into their kiss and Jane did as she was told by her wife. Hell, she loved Maura so much, always had. Their lovemaking this morning was soft and kind as their life shifted into a new gear.


End file.
